


High school with the Pines Twins

by Mother_Mortician



Series: Parallel Support AU [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: 1962, Abuse, Abusive Filbrick Pines, Age of consent in New Jersey is 16, Boxing, Child Abuse, Consent, Emotional Abuse, F/M, Filbrick Pines' Bad Parenting, Fuck you filbrick pines, Glass Shard Beach (Gravity Falls), High School, I know what you're thinking, Okay okay, Parental Abuse, Romantic Friendship, SHOULD I PUT IF THEY ARE UNDERAGE?, SO, Stan figures out that a relationship is supposed to make you feel better, They are 17, but - Freeform, emotional boxer, glass shard beach high, he's trying, legal consent?, past parental abuse, past romantic emotional abuse, this is pretty much the same, unplanned twin, with Stanley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:08:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26113171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mother_Mortician/pseuds/Mother_Mortician
Summary: (Stanley Pines route) You're a girl who helped defend his brother against bullies, and you offer him a place to stay since his dad kicked him out. Instead of harboring his feelings... Stanley opens up. Things work out. :)
Relationships: HIghschool Stanley Pines/reader, Stan Pines/Reader, Stanley Pines/Reader, high school Stan Pines/reader
Series: Parallel Support AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896061
Comments: 124
Kudos: 88





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> OKAY! so, I had an idea, and noticing people feeling sad for Stan since... yeah, he's a little fucked up. I thought HEY, what if you, reader, ended up with Stanley Pines instead of Stanford? sure, now Ford is lonely but, hey, these boys aren't into polyamory with their twin brother. 
> 
> Much of the beginning is the same as the other, since it starts with Ford getting beat up, but once Stan enters, the interactions are different :) 
> 
> (of course, this isn't much different, but the following chapters with be)

It's not like you were the popular person, someone in the middle. your parents were sort of 'rich', so it’s not like you cared what the “popular kids” thought. You didn’t have a huge house, but that’s how they got the money to last longer.

You had gone to the bathroom towards the end of class, thankfully it was the last class of the day, and should be only ten minutes left of the school day. On the way back to the classroom you see these tough guys beating up a skinny kid, he looked familiar but you weren’t sure. Whoever he was, he was covered in blood.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing? Stop it!” You shout at the jocks. They all stop for a second and look at you. Anger in their eyes. Hunger in other’s. Being a girl, wearing a dress, many guys had made comments about how easy it would be to take you.

“Mind your own fucking business” and went back to beating the boy up.

You run up to the biggest one and start pounding on his back,  
“Stop it!” as a result he hits you right across the face. The boy who was being beaten up looked horrified. You fall, your back slamming on the floor.

“Why do you care? He’s a freak!”

“No he’s not! Leave him alone, you're gonna kill him, stop!” you say as you get up. The guy who had just hit you, picks you up, while the other guy who was beating up the kid, picks him up as well. They throw both of you in the janitor’s closet and lock the door.

It’s pitch black. The kid they threw in there with you was breathing heavily. You get up and manage to turn the light on.

The kid’s eye is swollen, his lip busted, and maybe something was broken. He was cradling his arm, trying not to move it. You watch as he slowly reaches up to touch the back of his head, it’s bleeding.

“Oh…” he says as he starts to look faint. You quickly take off your cardigan, bundle it up, lift his head just a little bit, and appling pressure to the wound. Getting blood on her hands in the process.

“Please stay awake…” You say as you snap your fingers repeatedly. His eyes widen, and he tries focusing his vision on you, he squinted at you. You notice marks on his face that would indicate he did wear glasses, but they were broken on his face during a punch.

“What’s your name?” You ask, trying to get him to stay awake.

“Stanford….Pines...” he whispers out.

“Do you normally wear glasses…?” You ask, hoping you were correct in the guess.

“Yeah…. they uh… broke them” he says seemingly trying to look at his surroundings.

“You know… you should have just let them hurt me… you wouldn’t be hurt if you didn’t…” he says quietly.

“What do you mean? Your condition is really bad, Stanford. You’re covered in blood, I couldn’t just let them do that to you, it isn’t right.”

“But they were right, I am a freak” he whispered.

“No you’re not, you’re fine the way you are, they are the ones that are freaks for beating someone up this badly…” You say as you hold pressure on the wound.

“But look…” he says, lifting his bloody hand for you to see, six fingers.

“That doesn’t make you a freak, you’re perfect the way you are, sure it’s different than the norm, but that doesn’t make you a freak, or deserving of assault.” You say. Now that you are this close to his face, he really does look familiar.

“Oh…” he mumbles. Like, he honestly didn’t expect you to give that answer.

“Is there anyone who would notice you were missing that would look for you after school ends?” You ask, using your free hand to pull the canister of water from your bag. Handing it over to him, and he takes a big gulp. Blood left on the bottle as he hands it back. You make a note to wash it when you get home.

“Yeah...my brother Stanley...if he doesn’t see me at our meet up spot at a specific time, he starts looking for me…”

“Does this happen a lot...getting beaten up and thrown in closets…?” You ask, your face feels like it’s throbbing.

“Often but...they’ve never hurt me this bad before…” he says, looking defeated.

The bell rings.

There is chatter, going past the door, but Stanford suggested that you both should just wait for his brother, since those guys aren’t the only ones who like to beat him up.  
The hallways got quiet. Then suddenly there is yelling echoing through the halls.

“Stanford! ….

Sixer!

Where are you?

You hoped you were slowing down the blood loss, but Stanford said he felt like the room was spinning. His eyes widen with hope when he hears the voice. You take that as a hint that that is his brother. You scoop him up and placed him on your lap, using your leg to keep pressure on the wound, and both of your hands to cover his ears. You were about to yell.

“STANLEY! HELP” You scream as loud as you can. The shouting voice in the halls stopped, like it was trying to listen.

“HELP! STANLEY!”

You hear a squeak of shoes as it sounds like he is running in your direction.

The knob for the door starts fidgeting. Then pauses. Then some small metal sounds, like he was picking the lock, and then finally, the door was opened.  
The door swung open, to someone who looked identical to Stanford, just beefier...and a gruffer... greaser look. Unlike Stanford his hair is slicked back and his outfit was more casual. 

He looks down at the bleeding mess that was Stanford. Horror in his eyes. He got down on one knee to try picking up his brother, but you stopped him  
“His head is bleeding a lot, I need to keep constant pressure.” you say, he looks at you and nods. He slowly maneuvers his way to pick you up Stanford without getting in your way.He looks extremely worried, and angry.

All three of you walked towards a car parked in the lot. While fidgeting to get his keys out, Stanley finally talks to you  
“Do you need to be home soon?”

“No real need, besides homework, why?” You ask, looking back at Stanford. Your parents were gone for work, and wouldn’t be back in a few months… or year. They weren’t sure. They wrote out notes, and stamps with their signature in case you needed it. They trusted you, you had perfect grades in all advanced classes, and took college courses on the side.  
Oh! That's where you recognized Stanford. Chemistry class. Not like you talked to each other or anything.

“Well I was going to ask if you could keep pressure on his head, while I drive him to the hospital”

“I can do that,” You crawl into the car, while Stanley slowly hands you Stanford. He looks and sees blood on his arms from just holding him for just a few minutes.

“Hey sixer, please tell me you’re awake”

“Yeah...just tired”

“Stay awake, please” You say quietly, while Stanley runs around the car jumping in and slamming the door.

“I’m awake…”

Stanley sped down the streets, like a crazy person, but he made good time. You all were at the hospital before they realized it.

The three of you storm into the emergency room entrance, and Stanford was immediately taken from you and Stanley. They ask for a small description of what happened.  
“He was beat up by a bunch of guys, he may have a broken arm, and he was thrown and his head’s been bleeding for about twenty five minutes.”

They then run off, taking the cardigan you placed on his head with him as they rolled him away.

Then it was just you and Stanley, and you both made your way to the waiting room chairs.  
He sat quietly for a bit before asking you

“Do you know who did it…?” he asks quietly.

“I don’t know their names, but I know their faces…”

“Are you okay?” he asks as his hand gently points to the bruise blossoming across your face.

“It’ll be sore, but I’ll be fine” you say then look down. “I tried stopping them...that's why they did this…” you say pointing to the bruise. “They would have continued to hit him…I tried stopping them….”

“You did stop them, you're a tough gal” he says with a gentle smile. “They probably would have beaten him to death if they had the chance…” his expression full of pain and rage.

“Let’s just hope he’ll be fine…” you add, hoping he’ll calm down, his expression did, but you knew he was still infuriated.

There was a pause, twenty minutes had passed and no news.

“So are you like his girlfriend or something?” Stanley randomly asks.

“No? I just met him today…” you responded honestly.

“So you helped a complete stranger?” he said, his expression shocked.

“Yeah? I mean I think I have a class with him, but it’s not like we ever talked”

“Oh… I see.” Stanley thought you were very cute. However, he knew Stanford wasn’t great at getting girls to pay attention to him, he’ll give Ford a chance first… should he? It’s not like he’s happy alone...

No time to think of that now.

“So what’s your name?” he asks gently.

You tell him your name.

“Oh… beautiful name” he says with a gentle smile. His expression was heartwarming...

“T-thanks…” you say, your face slightly turning red as you look away from him.

A whole hour passes before the doctor comes out

“You’re Stanley Pines?” The doctor asks

“I am”

“So your brother is fine. He has stitches that need to come out in a few weeks on his head, a broken arm, and multiple bruised ribs. He should heal without complications, he will just need time to recover. He’s in room 210. He will be discharged later this evening.”

“Thank you doctor…” Stanley says before the doctor turns around. After the doctor is gone he clenches his fists.

“Those ASSHOLES”

You looked up at him, he looked pissed.

“What’s their fucking problem? He’s got six fingers, so what? God, if I ever find out who they are, I’m going to make them wish they never even looked his direction”

He’s glaring at the floor for a few more seconds before looking up at you, letting his face soften.

“Sorry… it just...pisses me off…”

“I understand…” you say, looking up at him gently, in an attempt to comfort him, you place a hand on his shoulder. Doubting it’s helping...but his shoulders relax under your touch. 

“So uh” he clears his throat, but his voice still sounds raspy “you want to go in there with me?”

“I don’t want to intrude…”

“Please…?” he asks quietly, his brown eyes pleading for some anchor of support.

“Yeah, lead the way”

You both head to the room, staying quiet in anticipation. You see him pull something out of his pocket, a pair of glasses?

When you enter the room, Stanford’s lying there with his eyes closed, his head and chest bandaged up, and his arm is in a cast. His eye is swollen, and he had a small bandage on his lip and nose. All the blood cleaned off of him.

“Sixer, are you awake?”

“Yeah..just keeping my eyes closed...I don’t have my glasses so...my head started hurting from looking around”

“Lucky for you, I got what you need” Stanley says as he hands him his glasses, Stanford takes them and places them on his face and starts opening his eyes. One of his eyes hardly opens from how swollen it was. He smiled up at his brother, but when he noticed you were there. He was shocked.

“You’re here…?”

“y-yeah...I held your head and kept pressure on your wound while he drove you here….”

“Oh…”

You inform him what your name was, given that you hadn't told him before.

“Oh...I think we have chemistry class together”

“How are you feeling?” Stanley asked, trying to get the attention back on his wounded brother.

“In pain…” He answers quietly.

“Yeah I bet… so you want to tell me who did this..?”

Stanford looked away. He remained silent.

“C’mon Ford, you gotta tell me...this is far worse than what has happened before” Stanley pleaded. “At this point they should just go to prison”

“They’re the same guys from last time...after you went after them...they took it out on me… I told you this would happen…”

“Oh…” Stanley was quiet.

You felt like you should leave, this is their family business… but you had to agree  
“They could go to prison for this...they’d also end up paying your medical bill too.. That is..If you decide to press charges” You say with a gentle smile, hoping you weren’t overstepping.

“Yeah..I guess you guys are right..” Stanford said, sounding defeated.

The police soon arrived after that and took his statement. You gave a small statement too, since they had hit you, and you were a witness.  
Another hour passed before the doctor came into the room.

“Alright, you should be fine to go home...have any legal guardians with you?”

Stanley and Stanford both looked at each other, slightly panicked.

“I’ll call them..” Stanley said, before leaving the room to make a phone call.

Once he came back, he looked like he just saw a dead body.  
“They’ll be here in twenty minutes… they suggest I leave…”

Stanford looked up at his brother, sadness in his eye.

“Do you want a ride home…?” Stanley asks you.

You look over at Stanford then back at Stanley  
“Yeah..okay”  
It’s a quiet walk back to the car.

Once you sit in the passenger seat, and he is in the driver's seat, he just places his hands on the wheel, and lets his head hang down.  
You're not really sure what to do.

“Are you doing okay…?”

He lifts his head up, his eyes look glossy like he was going to cry.  
“Sure. Yeah, of course”

You give him a look of concern.  
“That’s not very convincing”

He looks out the windshield and starts  
“The old man is blaming me… he said he doesn’t want to see me at the house for a week… No matter what I said.. he just said I should have been there or-or-or not beat the guys up the first time they hurt Stanford. It’s just..not right…I told him I was sorry...but he doesn’t care…”

You look down, then out the windshield for a second, then finally back at Stanley. You were thinking of what to do, or what to say...however the first thing that popped into your head is what your mouth decided to let out.  
“I know we just met...but you can stay at my house if you want?”

He looks over at you, confused  
“Wouldn’t your parents rather I don’t..?”

“They aren’t home, they won’t be home for a while, it’s just me”

“Oh?”

“But this isn’t like..me coming on to you…just sounds like you’d end up sleeping in your car..and that’s not right”

“Oh..okay… well, tell me where to go”

You directed him to your house, it was pretty far from the hospital, so you were glad to get a ride. It was a three bedroom house: one master bedroom, and two smaller ones. While your parents were gone, you’ve been staying in the master bedroom, they had a nice desk in there that you used to get work done.  
You get out of the car, and grab your backpack from the back seat, while Stanley opens the trunk and grabs his.

When you both entered the house, he let out a small gasp.

“What’s wrong?” you ask

“It’s just...Stanford and I live above our family’s pawn shop. It’s pretty small...Ford and I always shared a room...this house is big” he said, awkwardly rubbing his arm. 

“Oh… well uh..You can stay in one of the rooms if you want, but you might need to go pick up clothes...though...my dad might have some clothes you could borrow for tomorrow, then maybe after school tomorrow we could grab some clothes..? Unless you don’t want to go on the weekend..?”

He looks down at the ground  
“Maybe I’ll just ask if Stanford can throw some of my clothes out of the window…”

“Oh...alright...well...it’s getting late, you can rest in the room while I make dinner?” you suggested.

“Yeah..thanks”

You lead him to the empty bedroom, and he just slowly walks in and flops himself on the bed.

After you’re done cooking dinner, you head back to get him. The door is closed now. As you were about to knock, you heard something on the other side.  
He was crying. Muffling sobs in the bed.

You just decide to enter.

“Stanley…?” You ask as you sit next to him on the bed. He quickly shoots up and wipes his eyes, badly pretending he’s perfectly fine.

He clears his throat a few times before talking  
“Y-yeah?”

You didn’t really think of what to say. You had only planned to tell him dinner was ready. However, you let your body take control as you walk over to the bed, and drape your arms over his shoulders. He quickly breathes in a sharp breath at the surprise contact but relaxes into your arms. His arms come up and gently wrap them around your waist.  
If someone was just taking appearances into account, you doubt they would have considered him to be as emotional as he is. However, accepting solace from someone who’s practically a stranger may just be his last resort… maybe he just really needs support…

You sit there together for a few moments before you remember why you even came in. When he finally relaxes you decide to pipe up.  
“so...dinner is ready”

“Oh uh..thank you” he says, pulling back his arms. 

It was pretty quiet as you both ate, there was some small talk, but neither of you talked about the attack on Stanford or Stanley getting kicked out of the house for the next few days...or the long hug. 

After dinner, he went back to the room, and you finished washing all the dishes. Once everything was washed and put away, you decided you should check on your temporary housemate.

*knock knock knock*

“Stanley..?”

He opens the door, his eyes looking puffy.

“Are you going to be okay…?”

He stayed quiet for a bit, looking at the floor, then finally after some time he responded  
“yeah...It just...sucks… I miss Stanford a bit.. I know that probably sounds lame… but I hope he’s doing okay… I just…” he let out a heavy sigh and sat back down on his temporary bed “I just wish my pa cared about me...or at least acted like it…”

The words you think of can't make their way out, so you just gently grab Stanley by the shoulders and pull him in for a hug. He melts into the hug, much faster than he did the first time. He squeezed you a little more than he should have, but it seemed all he wanted was the comfort. Part of you wants to say something comforting and reassuring but… there’s a small part of you that felt like he needed to let this out...

“I’m really trying my best…” his low voice rumbled into your shoulder.

“I know…” You say, although you didn’t know for sure, you just met him that day, but you could tell he was trying from his behavior.

You sat there hugging for a bit. his face burying into your shoulder. He quietly tried to not cry, he hoped you didn’t notice. You did.

When you pull away, he clears his throat and looks away, trying to avoid looking at your eyes, since there were tears that were welling in his eyes.“Well uh..thanks..” he says rubbing the back of his neck.

“No problem…” 

He sat quietly for a bit before talking up “why are you being so nice to me? I get you being nice to Ford, he’s a nice...smart guy...but I feel like all you’ve seen me do is get mad and cry.” 

“I’m not super sure...but I think it has to do with… your genuine concern...and emotional honesty” you say, you hope you said the right thing, it’s not like you were scared of him, but you didn’t want to upset him more.

He scoffs “emotional honesty?” he then looks down at his hands “I’m hardly ever open and honest about my emotions, that’d only lead to more trouble” 

“You seemed pretty honest a moment ago” you point out. "and even if you don't know me all that well...you can be honest with me?" you add the offer on.

“Yeah but…” he let out a groan and looked at you slightly scared “you’re not going to call the loony house on me are you…?” 

“What? No, why would I do that?” you ask, confused and slightly shocked he’d ask that.

“Just…” he let out a tired sigh “principal suggested it once to my pa after getting in my fifth fight this school year…” 

“Well… why did you get into the fights?” you ask, your tone slightly letting out the concern for your own safety. Did you just ask a violent guy to say in your house? What if he was going to hurt you while you slept?

“Just...people beating up Ford… or trying to humiliate him…” he paused “I mean my dad is the one who signed me up for boxing, and told me I need to stand up for myself and my brother, but...I’m sure he didn’t think about how that would make HIM look…” 

“Oh… I’m sorry, Stanley…” you say, offering a sympathetic look.

“Don’t worry about it” he says with a soft smile. “but...I appreciate it” 

“well...I’ll talk to you tomorrow?” 

“Yeah” he says, his smile turning more genuine as he relaxes. 

“Good night, Stanley,” you say, after you talk to the doorway.

The tone his voice comes out is gentle, despite it’s usual brashness “Night, sweet dreams..” 

You walk over to your room, and lay down on your bed. You mumble into your blanket  
“I guess I should do my homework now…”


	2. Rib Cage - Beehive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzbuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no self control, have some more <3
> 
> (Of course there are similarities, it's the same second day as the other story)

You set your alarm to wake you up early.

It’s been kind of lonely here, so having Stanley here was nice just knowing you weren’t alone in the house. He’s been sweet to you… and despite not really knowing him that well, having him there wasn’t just nice to ease the loneliness, but a comforting... and securing feeling. 

You got up and made breakfast, and five lunches, there were a few kids that you brought food for since you knew you had enough to share. The other two were for Stanley and Stanford, if Stanford decided to come to school, that is.

You were just about done when Stanley woke up.

“Hey uh..what are you doing?”

“Making lunches” you say, without even turning around from the counter, you were wrapping up the last lunch bag.

You turn around and look at him, snapping your fingers  
“Clothes”.  
He was wearing exactly what he wore yesterday.

“While I go pick some stuff out...eat your breakfast, it’s the one on the edge of the counter, I’ll get you some clothes”

You ran to your room and went through your closet. Your dad left some clothes behind, you pulled out a button up T-shirt and some pants.  
“Eh, this should do, hopefully it fits” you mumble to yourself. You run back to the kitchen and find Stanley sitting at the table eating his breakfast.

“Hey, I got you some clothes” You say as you place them down on the couch. “I know they may be… different from what you normally wear but… it’s better than wearing the same thing again.”

“Yeah you’re right….You’re not gonna eat?” he asks, his face curious.

“Nah, I’m okay, I ate a meal’s worth of food while getting all the food prepared, but uh..I’m gonna go shower, once I get out, you should jump in the shower” You give him two thumbs up before heading to the bathroom.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Stanley finished eating, then looked at himself. He still had Ford’s blood dried to his arms. Which only frustrated him more… he wondered if Ford was doing okay. 

A shower didn’t sound too bad. He went over and inspected the clothes you brought out for him.

“Mm...looks expensive” he mutters to himself. 

As you’re in the shower, he decides to look around the house. There were pictures of her with your parents, and a display case full of awards you've won, he got a small sting in his chest from looking at them. It reminded him of Stanford’s awards.

His mind starts to wander…  
If he ever won a first place academic award, maybe his dad wouldn’t think he wasn’t such a fuck up. Maybe a first place award for anything…  
No...he got awards for boxing...and his dad still didn’t care. It’s not like his dad thought much of him anyway… 

He noticed a few pictures of her parents with celebrities on the wall. His face scrunched, he thought it was weird. He noticed a few things around the house that looked expensive, at least he guessed they were expensive, his dad sold similar things at a large price. Despite his urges, he doesn’t steal anything… he wants you to like him. His face is brushed with pink at the thought. Does he want you to like him? Is he beginning to like you? Even Carla wasn’t as accepting of his crying or his emotions… he was a man, he shouldn’t cry or be weak… maybe they’d never get back together and Stanley was actually okay with that.  
He gently smiled as he looked at a framed picture of you on the wall. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After Stanley showered and after you both got to school, you went your separate ways. Sure, you were going to see him after school, but you wondered if he was going to be okay.

When chemistry class started, you noticed that Stanford was there, taking notes, his right arm in a cast and sling, and bandages on his face. In the class they got to pick their seats, so you sat next to him, it’s not like he was sitting with anyone else.

“Hey” you start, trying to be friendly

“Oh, hey” he stated, slightly surprised, he thought that you’d probably go back to not talking to him, since he didn’t really have any friends.

“How are you feeling?”

“I...could be better…” he says nervously.

“Yeah I bet…”

“Hey um...Stanley gave you a ride home last night, right?” He asks, hesitantly

“Yeah, why?” 

“Have you seen him since he dropped you off? Like at school or anything?...I’m just concerned…”

“Y-yeah actually..I offered him to stay in my house till he can go back home…” when the words come out, you hope that Ford doesn’t assume that you and Stan were sleeping together… but would that be bad? stop.

“You did?” He looked surprised, like you told him you were an alien or something.

“Yeah… he wasn’t doing too well...and I didn’t want him sleeping in his car…”

“I understand...he slept in his car last time…”

“So it’s happened before?”

“Yeah… Pa gets really upset with him…”

You sat quietly for a bit. It was obvious that out of the twins, the father favored Stanford. You weren’t sure what to say. Your thoughts were interrupted by the teacher. They were telling them how to start the lab. It was easy.

Towards the end of class you get an idea.  
“Hey, you can stay at my house too if you want, even if it’s just for the night”

He turned surprised, his face slightly red.  
“W-what?”

“Well since Stanley can’t go home...and the both of you mentioned missing the other… you could stay at my place”

He looks at the books he’s placing in his bag, it’s hard to tell what express is on his face from the swelling but you can tell he’s thinking  
“Y-yeah okay, um...I’d have to pick up clothes….for Stanley as well…”

“That’s fine”

He looks at you, like he’s debating on something to say “so like...are we friends?”

You smile “yeah, I’d like to think we are friends” 

“Nice” he says, you can see a hint of a smile behind the bruising.

You hand him the lunch you made when class was dismissed and you go about your days.

After school, you had met up with Stanley, waiting outside of Stanford’s class room, just to make sure he wasn’t going to get beat up again.

“You have a good day?” he asks casually.

“Yeah it was pretty good” you pause and look him up and down, he was leaning against the wall next to the door “I didn’t say it earlier but… those clothes suit you” 

“Oh?” he says, a smile growing on his lips along with a dim blush “you think I could be a model?” he asks, lifting his hand to hold his chin under his thumb and index finger. 

A smile spreads across your face and you let out a small giggle “yeah, you are handsome enough” the words come out faster than you thought they would.

“You think I’m handsome?” he asks, his blush deepening. 

“Uh...yes...that is what I said isn’t it…” you say quietly , you can see a soft expression on his face before you look away at the door opening, and Ford entering the room.

The three of you rode in Stanley’s car, and despite missing each other, the twins don’t say much to each other in the car ride. Especially when Stanford runs into his house to grab clothes for him and Stanley.

“So..'Ford?' This is my house” you say hesitantly, you weren’t sure if only Stanley called him Ford or it was just another name he was fine with.

His brow raised when you called him Ford, but nothing else. At least, nothing you could tell immediately, considering his face is swollen. 

“This is a pretty big house” he says with amazement.

“Yeah…”

“Hey, is it okay if I go and show him my room? Er… the room I’m staying in?” Stanley asks nervously

“Yeah that’s totally fine”

When they head down the hall and into the room, you could hear whispering. You listened in for a second and hear  
“Did ma and pa say anything last night…?”  
“Yeah… but I won’t tell you...it wasn’t nice…”  
“Sixer please… I just want to know.”

You decide to stop, and set up shop at the dining room table, starting on your homework. You had just about completed all of your anatomy homework by the time the twins came back out. Stanford saw your studies before you completed putting it away, and took a few steps to the table as you start pulling out the next subject.

“Would you like to have a homework partner?” he asks nervously. His face turns a little red when you smile up at him.

“Yeah, grab a seat”

Stanley sat on the couch with a sketchbook, drawing little doodles, he was a little too nervous to ask to watch the television. He kept peeking up at the table...making you wonder if he was curious..or what exactly he was doodling.

The house was pretty quiet, occasionally you and Stanford would talk about the questions and the assignments, but not really to ask for help, just confirming answers with each other.

It stayed this way for a few hours, before you both had everything completed. The goal was to finish everything on Friday evening, so they could have more time on the weekend to do whatever teenagers decided to do. There were a few sandwiches you had made that you all ate throughout the studying and doodling, counting it as dinner.

“Hey Nerds, you almost done…?” despite calling the two of you nerds, it didn’t seem like it had any negative connotations attached to it like it does when others call you that. Stanford just smiled at the remark.

“Yes Stanley, we’re almost done” He said with a small chuckle.

“Okay...just wondering…”

“Y’know, you can watch the tele' if you want” you suggest

Stanley’s face grew into a smile  
“Aw sweet” he says as he grabs the remote and turns on the tv. He keeps it at a low volume, since he doesn’t want to be told to do it later.

“Hey um...I have a question?” you ask Ford

“Yeah?” he looks up from his studying.

“Do you prefer Stanford or Ford…?”

“Oh, uh...either is fine” He says, a little confused, he was thinking it would be a different question.

“Okay..thanks”

“Can I ask you a question..?” He asks hesitantly.

“Sure”

“Why are you..being so nice to us? You just met us yesterday and now you’re letting Stanley stay here...and you offered me to stay with him here...You aren’t trying to kill us, are you?”

“Aha no no no, I offered to let him stay because my parents always said if I have a friend who’s in an abusive or neglectful situation, that they could stay here, and sure I just met you guys, but it’s not like you’ve given me any reason to not trust you”

Ford looks down, he was thinking of his brother’s ‘criminal like’ tendencies or pick pocketing and stealing. He glanced around the house and saw a lot of expensive looking things. Maybe opening up the doors to Stanley might not have been the smartest move. Then the other thing you said kind of hit him  
“Abusive? What do you mean?”

Your face scrunched, a little confused on why he’d ask that. Has it been like this forever? Is that why they don’t see a major problem in how their dad acts?

When you responded, you answered quietly “Well...your dad...he always makes your brother feel like a failure, he kicked him out...and apparently has done it before… whatever Stanley does, he feels like he does it wrong… that’s pretty abusive..”

Ford is quiet for a second, he thought he was smart, but he seemed to have missed something pretty big. He glanced over at his brother, who’s face he couldn’t see. He then looks back over and whispers back,  
“But he doesn’t beat us or anything..?”

“That’s not the point...do you know anything about mental health…? What your dad does...that’s not good for him..or you…”

Stanford felt like he should defend his dad, but he cared about Stanley more than his dad..and you had a point...Stanley wasn’t doing good. His dad also makes him feel bad, like he has to accomplish a lot with science to get his approval.

“Oh…” He looked down at the table and placed his pencil down.

“So...are you only nice to us because... you feel bad for us…?” he says without looking up.

“No, I’m nice to you, because I think you guys are cool and nice. The offering Stanley to stay was because I felt like he could benefit from it. I don’t just act on pity. So far, I really like you guys.” 

“Well, so far, we like you too,” He said with a smile, a slight blush dusted his cheeks. He cleared his throat before talking up again “Well, I know I do, but I’m sure Stanley does too” He said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I think you’re amazing,” Stanley says from the couch. Was he listening to the whole conversation?

Ford and you exchanged smiles. Ford cleared his throat.

“So uh...I’m done, did you finish your last question?”

“Aah….yep! I’m done.”

“YES!” Stanley shouts from the couch as he gets up.  
“So what are we doing now?” asked excitedly.

They both just look at you, hoping you have an answer. You wanted to do something fun, but it was getting too late to go out.

“OH! We have a hot tub in the backyard, if that sounds like fun” you suggested. Maybe offering a dip in the hot tub with two guys wasn’t the best idea.

“Oooo sounds fun” Stanley said enthusiastically

“Isn’t it..going to get cold soon?” Ford asks, nervously.

“Mmm..well we could go in for an hour? I have a couple of robes we could put on once we get out”

“But we don’t have any swimwear…” Ford added. “And… I probably shouldn’t with how my arm is...I’d probably have to wrap it in a bag or be super careful…”

“We’ll figure something out, I mean you could stay inside” Stanley said with a teasing shrug and smirk, however his expression turned soft as he looked back at you. Ford looks at his brother’s expression and mannerisms… Stanley really wants to go do this with you. Stanford didn’t really want to interrupt. 

“Is that okay?” Ford asks you “I mean, it probably would be fun but… I’m just not up for it” 

“That’s fine Stanford” you say with an understanding smile “but if you ever change your mind, feel free to join us?” 

“Thanks” he says, before he turns around and rests on the couch. The cushions feel much better on his aching body than the chair at the table did.

“Well I’ll go set it up, then I’ll go change” you say with a smile to Stanley. 

“Sure thing” 

You walk outside, uncover the hot tub, then get everything ready. Your mind screaming that this probably isn’t a good idea in the back of your head. Once finished, you head back inside and get dressed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Stanley… be honest… do you like her?” Ford asks as Stan undresses down to his boxers. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sixer.” Stanley says, shrugging. 

“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about”

Stan remains silent. 

“What about Carla?” Ford asks gently.

“WHAT ABOUT Carla? Do you like it when I’m with Carla?” Stanley asks, tilting his head to the side.

“Well...no, not really” Stanford admits “you smoke a lot when you’re with her… but how do I know that you won’t smoke because of her?” He questions, holding out his left hand. 

“She doesn’t seem like that…” Stan said softly, looking away “she’s nice to me… even when I’m…” Stan cleared his throat, Ford doesn't need to worry about his emotions “anyway… um… rest up, maybe the swelling will go down enough to not hurt when you blink?” 

“Thanks Stan,” Ford says, and Stan starts to walk out towards the back door before Stanford calls out again “and Stan?” who turns around to look at his twin “be smart… okay?” Ford says gently, receiving a smile from Stan.

Stan has his feet dipped in the water of your in-ground hot tub when he feels you tap his shoulder, he turns around to see you wearing a two piece bathing suit, which wasn’t the most common at the time. The sight got him a bit excited. His hands clasping in front of him, between his legs, hopefully hiding any hint of how he was feeling about seeing you like this. 

“Aw, you started without me?” you ask with a small giggle, his face brightens at your smile. His brown eyes beaming up at you, and following you as you sit next to him, sticking your feet in the water. Despite your lack of clothes, his chocolate eyes just looked into yours.

“Couldn’t help myself” he says, his smile unwavering.

You gently slide in, the water covering your shoulders as you move across to the other side of the hot tub “don’t you wanna get in?” you ask

He slowly slid in and sat across from you, the hot water washing over his tense muscles “holy Moses...this feels really good…” 

“Yeah...it’s nice after long days” you say, leaning your head back looking up at the night sky. His eyes stay on you...your jaw...down your neck...at your exposed collar bones. 

“y-yeah...I bet…” he manages out, he decides to look away before he gets too excited. His eyes look up to the stars with you. 

“Stanley?” you ask quietly, you look back down to see him looking at the sky before he looks back at you.

“Yeah?” 

“Do you like it here? You don’t...feel like you have to stay since I offered right?” you ask gently, but his brows scrunch at your words. 

“No, I like it… the company here is great” he says gently, a soft smile tugging on his lips. 

“So like...me and Stanford?” you ask, raising a brow, glancing back over to the house. 

“I’m used to Stanford” he says, with a joking huff of laughter “he’s my family, but…” he quiets as his cheeks redden “you’re not so bad” 

You let out a small laugh “I’m not so bad?, well you’re not so bad yourself” you say, your joking teasing as you gently kick him under the water. 

Stanley smiles at you for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and looking towards the house “hey… I have a question.” 

“Yeah?” 

“After high school… Did you ever think about traveling the world?” He asks, his tone slightly embarrassed.

“I mean… sure. I’d love to” you say brightly, his expression lightens up then you add “after I go to college though… maybe a degree I get, I could use to help people I run into or… make money” 

He looks away and bites on his lips. 

“Why do you ask?” 

“Just wondering…” he pauses in thought for a moment before looking back over to you “since Sixer and I were little, we’ve had this dream of going around the world, treasure hunting, and exploring…” 

“That sounds nice” you say, offering a soft smile. Was he inviting you? Trying to make conversation?...  
He’s cute when he’s flustered…

“Is does…” he says before looking away, leaning back to stare into the night sky. 

Is he too flustered to look at you? Or is he upset about something…? 

You gently make your way across the water and sit next to him, your shoulder an inch away from him “you good, Stanley?” 

“I’m…” his eyes widen and he blinks with a blank expression before he looks over at you, realizing you’re closer now. “I’m o-okay?” he raises a brow “when did you move?”

“Just now?” you answer with a giggle. 

He looks deeply into your eyes, your knees feel like jelly…

“I don’t mean to make things weird… but...you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen” his voice is low, and from the close proximity, you swear you feel his voice rumble inside your rib cage. 

“I do…?” 

He gently nods, without breaking eye contact “I bet you’ve had a lot of luck getting people to like you, huh?” 

You hesitate “ho-honestly...I’ve never even been... kissed before…” you mumble out, has he gotten closer? Or is your accelerated heart rate just making you panic?

He pauses, and looks away. He tilts his head as he glances over to the house… “I’ve made it weird haven’t I…” he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. 

Despite wanting to say no, your chest is aching and you swear your throat has been tightening… 

His dark eyes look back to you, his brows were creased in the middle, as he looks like he’s trying to figure out what to say… he’s mentally punching himself in the face...that would have shut him up… he looks away, looking at his hands under the water. Seeing how the ripples on the surface warp the way it looks…

“Stanley…?” you finally manage to whisper out. He looks back up at you, concerned he ruined the night...and the potential of a relationship...or even a friendship… “would you kiss me?”

His brows raise at the question “w-what?” 

“Well… I… I know I haven’t known you long...but… I think you’re a great guy… and I mean...I trust you enough to stay at my house…” you end that with an embarrassed laugh, looking down at your water warped feet “I mean… If you don’t want to… I understand” you look back up at him, his expression soft.

“I want to…” he whispers, gently lifting his hand and places it on your jaw, his fingertips dipping onto your neck “do you…?” you gently nod before he leans in.  
When his lips press against yours you feel a tingling sensation covering all of your organs, like butterflies in your stomach but more realistically… like a swarm of bees buzzing and tingling everything they bump into. Your whole abdomen is a beehive and you’re loving it. 

His other hand soon raises up and holds the other side of your face as he presses you closer. Your arms reach around his neck and pull him in as well. 

At first it was chaste. A sweet kiss, but with the motion of the hot water and bare skin, it got steamy. From pulling on his neck you’re pulled up and onto his lap, straddling his hips. 

One of his hands breaks the contact with your face as he wraps his arm around your waist, pulling you closer to his bare chest. His chest hair gently scratches against yours but that’s hardly a concern... The concern is the tap of something you feel between your legs... 

You gently pull away from the kiss, his eyes remaining closed for a few seconds longer as he took in a deep sigh. When he opened his eyes, a wide goofy grin was plastered on his face. “How was that?” 

“Well as far as first kisses go...I’d say it was great...though...it…got a little more hot and heavy than I would have preferred…” you say as you gently got off from his lap. 

His face turns red as he looks away “I’m sorry…I didn't mean-” 

“I’m not upset, Stanley” you interrupt, offering a hand and a reassuring smile “but I am turning into a raisin here...so we should probably head back in.” 

It’s not that you didn’t like it… it was amazing… but the idea of the other thing was… nerve wracking. 

He takes your hand and stands up, his expression gentle as he looks at you for a moment. He then crawls out, helping you out along the way, then he grabs the robes, hands you one then wraps himself in one. 

“So...shall we then?” he says, reaching for the door, tipping an invisible top hat.

Once you’re in the house, you smile at him once more before you say “I should… get to sleep”

“Okay” he says with a smile “good night” 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

He watches you walk upstairs for a moment before turning to the couch. The still form laying down was quietly snoring. Stan walks over and scoops up his much lighter twin brother. 

There was a small hitch in his breathing as he squinted his eyes open “oh... hey Stanley…”

“Have a nice nap on the couch, sleeping beauty?”

“Yeah… I had a dream where Einstein was my teacher, and he called me smart” he mumbled out, before closing his eyes.

“That’s nice Ford,” Stan said with a tired smile. He gently placed him in the guest bed.

“Mmhm…. so, how was the hot tub? Did you feel like soup?” Stanford whispered out, his words slightly slurring.

“What?” Stanley let out a tired chuckle “no, not soup… it was nice… she may be the nicest person I’ve ever met…” 

The only response he gets from Ford is jumbled nonsense and mumbling, so Stanley gently removes his brother's shoes, covers him in his blanket and leaves for his own bed. 

Stan flops down onto his bed, and stares up at the ceiling. His hand rests on his chest. The tingly feeling still vibrating through his body. His rib cage is a beehive...and he's loving it...

“Is this how it’s supposed to feel?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)   
> Take care <3


	3. Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins take you to the Stan O' War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning.  
> sexual harassment and creepy creeps -_-

Saturday morning, you take the time to sleep in.  
You’re used to waking up early, but you also hope your new house mates would be able to fend for themselves. You did leave a box of cereal on the table along with some bowls and spoons, so hopefully they get the hint.

When you woke up, both of the twins were out in the living room eating breakfast. They were so quiet that you didn’t even know that they were awake until you were walking down the stairs. Stanley’s looking out the window, while Ford’s reading a book, they look so peaceful. You can see small particles of dust reflecting the morning light streaming in through the window, and slight swaying of plants tapping against the glass. Stanford’s wearing a whole pajama set with a buttoned long sleeve and long pants, and Stanley was wearing a similar ensemble but a plain t-shirt instead of the matching button up. You wore long pants and a loose tank top, it had thick straps and a fancy design on the straps and collar.

“Good morning, Beautiful,” Stanley says as you enter the room, his expression fully wakes up just by looking at you. His cheeks redden as he sees you still in your pajamas. What does he expect? It’s a weekend morning.

At his words a faint blush covers your cheeks and your hand comes up to cover your mouth for a few seconds before Stanford also greats you.  
“Good morning” Ford has a slightly amused smile on his face seeing his brother so gushed up. “Thanks for breakfast, sleep well?” 

“It’s nothing, I just set things on the table” you say with a shrug “and yeah, I had a pleasant slumber” you sit down at the end of the table, Stanley to your right and Stanford to your left. 

“So,” Stanley starts off awkwardly “y’know how yesterday, I told you about that dream of traveling and such?” 

“Yeah..? what about it?” you ask, pouring cereal into your bowl, and raising a brow to him. 

“We normally go and work on our boat Saturdays, but since we were going to be staying here we thought that you could decide if we go or not…?” he asks awkwardly. 

“You have a boat?” 

“Did...did I not mention that part?” he asks awkwardly, he clears his throat then tries to sound more confident “oh well, yeah! We have a boat, we took it from some pirate ghosts” he says with a bright laugh “we call it the Stan o’ War” 

“Stan O’ War?” you ask, letting out a small giggle “that’s a nice name, great use of word play” 

“Thanks,” Ford says with a bright smile. “We’ve been working on it for a few years, but I’m sure as hell not useful right now in my condition. Maybe we can just do it another day?” 

“I mean...even if you guys don’t work on it, it’s a nice day out, we could still go, I’d love to see it?” you say sweetly, both twins look at you with soft smiles on their faces.

Ford looks down at his forgotten book, slides a ribbon into the page and closes it. His eyes move from you to Stan as he got up from his chair “well… since we already washed our dishes, I’m going to go get dressed” he pauses as he stands up “you don’t need to rush, I just know if I’m dressed earlier, I don’t have to rush later, and I want to read what happens next” he says holding up a book titled ‘War of the Worlds’, before he heads up the stairs.

You watch him walk up the stairs for a moment before you turn back to Stan, whose arms were on the table, his gaze focusing on something outside, his finger intertwined, with his left index finger tapping rhythmically at the back of his right hand. 

“Everything okay, Stanley…?” you ask softly. 

He turns his head to look at you then looks down at his hands “yeah...just… thinking…” he admits, adjusting his fingers to fiddle his thumbs. 

“About…?” you pry, scooting your chair over closer to Stanley, slightly slouching over so he can’t avoid your gaze. 

His brown eyes look deeply into yours for a few silent moments before he decided to talk “do you regret it…?”

“Regret what?” You ask, sitting up in your seat. 

He holds his hand out before he gives the example like you should know, but with the prolonged silence he answers “last night when you… kissed me…?” 

You raise a brow, slightly worried “No...I don’t..” you pause “do you? I shouldn’t have asked, I-” 

He interrupts you “I don’t regret it.” he pauses and lets out a sigh “I just… I can’t understand why you’d want to… affiliate yourself with a guy like me.” 

You tilt your head to the side “what do you mean ‘a guy like you’?” 

“I’m just… I’m not good enough.” He says quietly, but he continues before you can respond “and… I don’t know if you like me like that or you just wanted to kiss me, but.... I know that you deserve better.” 

You silently bite the inside of your cheek for a moment, hesitating on what you’re thinking of doing...but you do it. You reach over and place a hand on top of his interlocked fingers “look Stanley… you’re a great guy...I… I’m not sure if I like you like that right now.... But I know that I could.” you pause, his brown eyes looking deep into yours “I’m not saying it has to be me but...you deserve to be happy… and If you find someone who makes you happy, I’ll be happy for you” 

He looks down at your hand on his, he stays silent for a few moments before detangling his own fingers so that his palm faces up to hold yours...ever so slightly. “Well...if I’m being honest… I think I’m starting to…” he admits, giving your hand a small squeeze before pulling away, turning his head to the window “I understand if...that makes things weird for me staying here, I just…” he pauses, letting out a small sigh “I thought I should tell you…” 

“It won’t make it weird” you say softly “and...thank you for telling me…”

“Well” he says before clearing his throat “I should get ready, I’d hate for the whole day to pass by and we miss seeing it” a soft smile spreads across his face. 

“Okay Stanley, I’ll finish up and get dressed, then we’ll head out” 

~~~~~~~  
After the three of you were dressed, you all got in Stanley’s car, and he started his drive to Glass Shard Beach. Stanley wore pants and a striped shirt, Ford wore pants, and a button down collared shirt, and you wore a floral print sunsuit with a skirt covering your legs. The top looked enough like a normal shirt that it went well. 

You are encouraged to sit in the passenger seat next to Stanley as Stanford sat in the back. The front seat of his car resembles more of a bench than two separate seats. He drove with his left hand on the wheel while the other rested on the top of the seat’s upholstery. His fingertips occasionally gracing your shoulder, but never directly.  
Your start to stare out the window, the suburban houses and trees zipping by as you make your way to the coast. You place your left hand next to your body on the chair, thinking about last night… straddling Stanley’s lap as you shared your first kiss with him. You’re suddenly pulled out of your thoughts by a rhythmic tap on your shoulder.  
You turn your attention to a smiling Stanley, who was handing something over to you. You take what appeared to be a piece of paper, but once your fingertip touched a smooth side you flipped it to reveal a photograph of two young boys, identical despite one wearing glasses, while the other had a missing tooth. They were standing in front of a wrecked boat. 

You look back up at Stanley whose attention is back on the road “is this you guys as kids?” you ask with a raised brow and soft smile. 

He turns to you with a broad smile “can you guess who is who?” 

“Well… this one is you” you say pointing to the boy with a missing tooth “and this is Stanford” you say, pointing to the boy with glasses. 

“Ooo wow, you hear that sixer? She can tell us apart, even though we’re completely identical” Stan said with a chuckle. 

You hear the seat behind you make a few squeeks in the upholstery as Stanford leaned forward “Or that might just be because you never wear your glasses and I have six fingers” Ford says, his left hand coming forward to point to his fingers on the picture. Stanley quickly shoots a frustrated look at Stanford for outing him. 

“You wear glasses?” you ask curiously, his attention snaps back at you, his face dusted with a dark rest. 

“Uh… no?” he asks. Why? Why would he ask that? He lets out a heavy sigh, “I should, sure, but I don’t like wearing em”  
“Why not?” you ask softly.  
He turns his attention back to the road “eh… nothing good comes out of it” 

You look back at Stanford, who offered you a shrug and a slight gesture with his head to look ahead of you in the glove compartment. You give Stanford a smile then, turn to the compartment, pulling out a pair of glasses. They were boxier than Ford’s curved frames. You wait for a red light to slide the glasses on his face. 

He looks at you slightly startled and nervous. 

You hum thoughtfully “just as I suspected” you say in your most serious tone.

“W-what?” he asks, nervous laughter escaping the back of his throat. 

“Still incredibly handsome,” you say cheerfully, his nervous expression melting off his face. 

“Oh..." he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding "well...thanks, Sweetheart” he says softly, his face turning a sweet shade of red as he continues to drive. Ford smiles in the back seat, before now he didn’t really think about how eager Stanley’s last girlfriend was on removing his glasses. Despite having a small crush on you, he was happy that Stan was getting close to someone who wasn’t always trying to kick him out of things. Someone who actually wanted to be friends with him. 

Before you knew it, Stanley was parking and turning off the engine. Once you open the door and step out, you can feel the warm sunbeams against your skin. You could hear the sounds of distant laughing and waves crashing against the shore, along with the occasional sounds of seagulls squawking. The sands of the beach are full of bright green, brown, and blue sea glass that flickered in the sun. 

“Wow… it’s been a while…” you say quietly to yourself. 

Apparently Stanford had gotten out of the door behind you and was standing on your right “well I’m sure if you stick around us long enough you’ll get used to it”

At his words you turn and smile softly to him, getting a smile in response. “Y’know that doesn’t sound too bad” you say warmly, before reaching into the car and pulling out a large beach towel.

You hear the trunk close, Stanley has the towels in his hand as he offers you a smile “you ready to see our beauty?” he asks enthusiastically. Grabbing two average sized towels in his hands. The glasses sit comfortably on the bridge of his nose, and you can’t fully understand why he doesn’t like to wear them. Despite being very swollen in different places, Stanford is a pretty attractive guy, and he wears glasses.

“Lead the way” You say brightly, you and Stanford catch up to Stanley as you all make your way to their pet project. 

When you get close enough to see the details, it’s obvious that they’ve been working hard on it. “Ooo wow” you say in amazement “this is beautiful” 

“Thanks,” Stanford says cheerfully, leading you closer to their ship. 

“yep...Beautiful” Stanley repeated, but unlike you, he wasn’t looking at his boat. He has a soft smile on his face, looking at your bright smile, and looking at the way your eyes glistened in the sunlight. 

“You coming Stanley?” Stanford asked with an amused smile. Seeing his brother completely entranced by you was pretty entertaining for Stanford. 

“Y-yep!” Stanley says as he jogs up to meet up with the two of you. 

“So I was just showing her the basic ins and outs,” Ford says, gesturing to the ship with his left hand. 

“It’s very nice” you say with a smile “have you taken it out on the water yet?” 

“We have” Stanley says with great enthusiasm “we just gotta fix up the sails, and do some finishing touches, then it’s smooth sailing from there on” 

From your peripheral vision you can see Stanford slightly tense at Stanley’s words. You aren’t sure what that’s about, but you know you have to ask later. 

“So should we go grab the umbrella from the car?” you ask curiously, glancing back to Stan’s El Diablo. 

Stanley flattens his lips and taps at his chin thoughtfully “nah, I think we’ll be good” he says, offering you a bright smile. “So, since we’re not working, what do you wanna do here today?”

You look over to Stanford who was awkwardly glancing around the beach. Your eyes shift their gaze to Stanford’s cast “Ford, anything you feel up to doing?” 

Ford looks at you for a moment, his gaze moving to his brother then to his arm “I’m not sure, I could do a walk, but if you were thinking about going in the water, I’m fine sitting on the Stan O’ War, I could use some sun” 

“Not too much, Sixer, you don’t want your right arm to be the whitest part of you” Stanley said with a smile. He hung the two towels in his arm against the Stan O’ War, took the towel from your hands and placed it on the deck of their ship. “How’s that?” 

Ford gave him a warm smile “I think that’ll do” he answers, before Stanley proceeds to help lift him up onto the deck. Stanford stumbles a few times once he gets up, grabbing hold of the mast to balance himself out. “I’m good, thanks Stanley” he says, sitting down and offering Stanley a thumbs up. 

“I’ll bring you back some nice looking shells, okay?” you shout up to Ford. He smiles broadly at that and shouts back “I’d like that”

When you turn back to Stanley he’s undressing down to his swim shorts that were under his pants. Since he’s doing that you decide now is a good time to remove your skirt and be down to just your sun suit. You leave a pile of clothes on the deck with Stanford, and Stanley hands over his glasses to his brother for safe keeping.

Once you’re both ready, you catch up and walk by his side, his smile is bright and his eyes are warm. 

“Tired of me yet?” he asks, along with a playful laugh. 

“How could I be tired of you?” You ask with a giggle “we just met a few days ago” 

“We really did just meet huh?” he asks with a raised brow “So...so far, what do you think?” 

“About you or everything?” You ask curiously, matching his curious expression. 

He squinted his eyes “would it be selfish to say me?” 

“Nope” you say, taking a few steps so that the wave crashes onto your feet “I think you’re a really nice guy, I know you care a lot about people…” you pause “well, I know you care about the people who are close to you, not people in general” you correct with a wink. He let out a small laugh, his eyes warm with affection, causing a small dusting of pink to cover your cheeks. Both of you step more and more into the ocean, the water moving up past your knees. “You’re strong, and handsome” you turn your head to look into his soft brown eyes “and I think you deserve more than you think you do.” you manage to reach for his hand, giving it a small squeeze before he squeezes back. 

“Well… you wanna know what I think of you?” he asks, gently moving his thumb over the back of your hand. You nod, leading him to let out a long breath and start “I think… you’re the nicest person I’ve ever met. I mean, you’ve seen me cry and you… just hugged me.” he says quietly, looking away from you for a moment “you weren’t like ‘god, what a sissy loser’” he added in a weird voice. 

You glare at his face for a moment, not mad at him, but the way he says it sounds like it’s been said before “who said that?” you ask seriously. 

He looks at you from the corner of his eye, his shoulders tense, then looks back out to the sea “eh… a few people, not always those exact words, of course.” he admits. 

You look at him with a comforting expression, he relaxes “you’re..very smart… and sympathetic… you have the most beautiful eyes… well… overall, you’re very beautiful. I’m still...confused on how you could consider liking even after all you’ve seen.” 

“Well...maybe you and I aren’t seeing it the same way?” you ask softly, giving his hand a squeeze before letting go. “Hey, say what, let’s have fun, mmkay?” you ask, trying to be as casual as you could be while taking a few steps back. 

He raised a brow as an amused smile spread on his lips, he was on to you. “What do you have in mind?” 

A mischievous smile grows on your face before digging your hand into the ocean, and splashing Stanley. He laughs as it hits him, and immediately splashes you back. You attempt to splash him again but he’s rushing at you with a goofy grin on his face. “Oh noooohohoho” you laugh out, trying to run away, but before you know it his arms are wrapped around your body, and picking you up out of the water, leaving your toes dangling into the water. 

“HAHA! I caught you-sshiitt” and he tripped, plummeting both of you into the chilled salty ocean. He quickly lifts you out of the water, places his hands on your face, and wipes the water away from your eyes with his thumbs “You good?” 

You look up at him, the water seems to have rinsed the product out of his hair, because it was drooping forward onto his forehead. He’s standing so close to you, both of his hands still holding the sides of your face. “I’m good,” you say, looking into his eyes. 

His thumb gently caressed your cheek, his eyes flicker down to your lips for a second, then back to your eyes. “I-” he starts before cutting himself off “would you want to-” he pauses again “may I-” you can see he’s obviously struggling to get his words out. 

“Do you want to kiss me?” you ask softly, he nods, “and you want to know if I want to and that it’d be okay?” 

“Yeah… I just… I don’t want to do it if you don’t… I...I can’t just… do something like that without making sure that’s what you want…” he says quietly, looking away. His expression looks...pained. 

Your eyes soften, and you place a hand on his cheek, a hint of stubble breaking though his skin “well, I’d love to”

His eyes search your face for a moment, before he leans in, gently pressing his lips on yours. He lets out a heavy sigh, and presses his lips onto yours more intensely for just a moment before he pulls away. A sweet smile on his face as he looks at you, his eyes full of affection. 

You soon walk back to dry land, you walk further down the shoreline, occasionally picking out colorful seashells among the colorful sea glass. Suddenly Stanley lets out an excited ‘ooo!’, causing you to look over at him. He was getting up from a squatting position and held up a small sharp tooth “found a shark tooth!” he says excitedly, walking back to you and placing it in your hand. 

“Ooo wow, nice find Stanley!” you rotate the tooth in your hand for a few spins “looks kinda like a thresher shark’s” at your words, Stanley takes a few steps closer and looks down at it. 

“How can you tell?” he asks. 

“Well look here” you say, pointing to the side of the tooth “it’s pretty smooth, and the dark brownish-silverish color kinda hints at it too, but don’t take my work on it, I’ll have to check out some books, but I’m pretty sure” 

He steps back again, cupping his chin “well, I’ll be damned” he says, offering you an appraising expression. 

You’re not sure what happens, but Stanley’s whole body tensed and he stumbled a bit, before standing back up, holding his face. His soft expression is replaced with a hard, angry one. There is a small streak of blood dripping down his cheek, as you can now see the fresh gash in his face. 

“What do you think you’re doing here, Pines?” a kid says, his tone harsh. 

“None of your fucking business, Dick” Stanley says, his voice sounding angrier than when he first found out how bad Ford was beat up. His arm snakes around your waist, and gently guides you to stand behind him. One hand stays on your hip as he tries to make sure he can fully protect you by keeping you behind him.

“Ooh! Who’s the fox?” he asks, his tone sending chills down your back, and causing you to hold on to Stanley’s hand.

Stanley takes a few steps back, trying to get you away from these creeps. 

“What? Not gonna share?” he asks Stanley, while another one of his friends joined in “c’mon, you know you don’t deserve her, you’re as dumb as a brick” 

“No he’s not!” you shout out from behind Stanley. You can see Stanley’s eyes quickly dart back to you before he looks back at the gang of teenage boys. 

One of the guys takes a few steps closer to Stanley “oh yeah? Have you met his deformed twin? He’s a nerd, a freak, good at taking a beating, but at least he has SOMETHING going for him” he stops and looks Stanley square in the eyes. Only a foot away. “What do you have going for you? hm? This hot piece of ass?” He asks, looking you up and down from over Stanley’s shoulder. 

“Touch her, and there’ll be nothing you’ll regret more” Stanley says, practically growling. 

“Oh Yeah, tough guy? You’ve always been able to over power us when we’re alone but...” he asks, a smug smile on his face, taking a step closer. 

A yelp escapes your mouth as you feel yourself being tanked from Stanley’s grasp. Somehow, while you were distracted with the guy up in Stanley’s face you lost track of the guys he was with. 

They thought they were clever, but as soon as your hand was pulled from Stan’s, he head-butted the guy in front of him and quickly spun around. Despite how close the other faces were to yours, Stanley shot out his first and hit one straight in the nose, and swung his other first over to the other side, punching him right across the jaw. Once you’re free from their grip, you see the guy Stanley had head-butt, glaring and pulling back a swing intended for Stanley.

“Watch out!” you shout, causing him to quickly turn around, dodge out of the way, and grab his shoulders, slamming him down onto the ground. 

He pulls an arm back, but punches the sand next to his head “ever get close to her or Ford again, and you won’t be so lucky”. He quickly stands back up and scoops you up into his arms and runs back down the beach towards Ford, the Stan O’ War, and his car. 

“I’m so sorry” he says as he places you down next to the Stan O’ War. Before you can respond, he goes onto the deck to get Ford. 

He helps Stanford down, grabs the towels and clothes, shoves them in the car while you and Ford get into the car. Stanley gets into the car, turns the keys, and starts his drive back to your house. You see his body is still tense and he has a glare stuck on his face as he looks out the windshield. 

You reach over, sliding your hand from his shoulder to his forearm. He looks over at you, his expression softening and his shoulders relax. You get a small tap on your shoulder as Stanford hands you Stanley’s glasses. Once you place them back on his face, Stanford finally pipes up from the back seat “why did we leave so early?” 

“Dick Forrester” Stanley growled out “and his stupid gang of shit bags” 

“oh..I see…” Stanford says quietly. You unfold your hand, finally releasing the shells and tooth from the right grip. Indentations and small puncture in your hand were enough to prove you closed your fist too quickly.  
You reach over your seat and hand Ford a mussel shell that shimmered in a periwinkle hue.  
“At least I have this for you” you say softly. Stanford offers you a small smile and a thanks before you turn back around. 

“Stanley… are you okay?” you ask quietly, placing the found shark tooth on the dash before placing a hand on his arm. He takes his hand off the wheel and takes your hand in his. 

“I’ll be better once we get back to your house”

The rest of the drive was quiet, despite the comments on directions. The whole time, Stanley held your hand, occasionally giving your hand a firm squeeze, like he was trying to make sure you were still there. Once you were all almost at your house, Stanford reminded Stanley he had only asked for one night and his parents wanted him home early afternoon. 

Once you got to your house, Stanford packed up his book bag and duffel bag full of clothes from the night. Stanley throws a shirt on and you give him a spare key for the house since, he’ll be staying for a while anyway. When they leave, you’re left alone, and let out a heavy sigh. You jump in the shower, washing off the sand off your skin and out of your hair. While you get dressed you can hear your front door open “I’m back!” Stanley’s voice calls out. 

“I’m getting dressed!” you shout back “You should shower and get the sand off your body!” you get your smooth pajama bottoms along with a flowy top. Sure it’s the middle of the day, but you doubt you’ll be going back out any time soon.

“Sounds good!” he shouts back, locking the door and walking up the stairs. He only spends a few minutes in the shower, before you hear his room close up. Once you’re dressed, you lay down on your bed, head propping up on a stack of pillows, reading a copy of I, Robot. Given that the book is over ten years old at this point, you just assume Stanford has probably read it already, but if not, sounds like a good suggestion to give him. 

*knock knock knock* 

“Come in” you say, without moving too much, aside from closing your book and placing it down on your side. He looks tired, he didn't bother putting his glasses back on after the shower, and you can see the cut that was scabbing over on his cheek. Surrounded by a dark bruise. 

“You feeling okay?” he asks hesitantly, standing in the doorway. He was wearing a black shirt along with his plaid pajama pants. His hair was still drying off, and for the first time you can start to tell how poofy his hair is normally.

“I’m okay, I’m sure if it wasn’t for you, it could have gone worse” you respond softly.

He rubs at the back of his neck and looks away “okay...that’s good...I just wanted to check in” he looks over to your book then continues “but if you’re busy I can get out of your hair” 

“You can join me if you want” you say, absentmindedly holding out your arms for him to lay down with you. 

“A-are you sure?” he asks awkwardly. You lower your arms for a second, finally thinking this through, but despite thinking this may be too comfortable of a gesture. It’s not like you didn’t trust him. 

“yeah , Stanley, c’mon, I can hold you and read my book at the same time.” you say, lifting your arms back up. He takes a few steps into your room, closing the door behind him and crawls onto the bed on top of you between your legs, before adjusting and resting his head down onto your chest just above your breasts. His arms slid under yours, as his fingers curled around your shoulders. He pulled one knee up so that he wasn’t putting his full weight on you.

“Is this okay?” he asks hesitantly. 

“Comfy” you respond, pulling your book up onto his back with one hand, as the other hand gently weaves into his hair. 

You silently read for almost half an hour before Stanley says “I’m sorry for today…” 

You close the book, placing it on your night stand, and look down at him “what are you sorry about?”

“Just… those guys… they grabbed you… and I was too distracted to notice.” he mumbles out. 

“It’s okay Stanley, I’m safe” you say softly, brushing your fingers through his dry poofy hair. He lets out a heavy sigh, and closes his eyes. 

“I’m happy you are…” he says, his arms giving you a gentle squeeze. 

“Hey, Stanley…?” He lets out a small hum of acknowledgement so you continue “You’re a great guy…” you say, gently planting a kiss into his hair. 

“Nice of you to think that… I’m sure you’re the only one beside Stanford and my ma to think that…” his eyes remain closed as he talks, his ear almost flat on your chest, listening to your steady heart beat. “But I think those assholes were right… I probably have nothing going for me.” 

“Well...you box...you’re good with fixing your car….you draw..though I haven’t seen any of your work...and maybe you’re not the best with all that class work and stuff but… that doesn’t mean you’re stupid and have no future.” you say, your other hand coming up and gently moving up and down his cheek with your thumb. He hums quietly in response, but he can’t think of anything to say. 

“Y’know if you’re tired, it’s okay if you go to sleep, I know it’s only like...a little past mid day, but I can wake you up when it’s dinner time” you offer. 

“I think...a nap would be a good idea…” he mumbles, gently nuzzling into you more. Your heartbeat pounding in your chest against his ear. It was like getting a big fluffy St.Bernard that thought it was a kitten with the way he was cuddling up to you. Sure he was a bit heavy, but he wasn’t putting his whole weight on you. Thankfully. 

“Sweet dreams, Stanley…” you whisper, but he was already asleep. 

~~~~ 

You’re not sure when you fell asleep, but when you woke back up, you were laying on your side, Stanley wrapped in your arms. Your chin resting on his head, his hair gently tickling your lips, and his face buried in the crook of your neck. 

You shift in your place, trying to figure out what time it is. The clock in your room says it past six in the afternoon. You lift yourself up onto your elbows, before getting the energy to push yourself up and swing your legs over. Turning around, you can see Stanley move in his sleep, subconsciously looking for the warmth of your missing body. Despite how strong he was, or how angry you’ve seen him, but seeing him like this shows you just how vulnerable he is willing to let himself be around you.  
You know you don’t know everything about him or everything he’s been though, but you know he hasn’t had the easiest life… and the way he constantly wants to make sure you’re okay with something, even as simple as a kiss. It makes you wonder.

You reach an arm out to wake him up, but as soon as your hand cups his face, his whole body tenses up and flinches away. His eyes wide open. His body relaxes once he sees that it’s you. 

You lean lay back down and pull him into you “I’m not going to hurt you, Stanley… I’ll never do anything you don’t want me to do…” he slides his arms around your body.

“I know you wouldn’t...I trust you… I was just...startled…” he says quietly, his voice still groggy from sleep. You look him in the eyes, his nose inches from yours “and I would never do anything to hurt you…” his tired eyes move down to your lips “would it be okay if I-” 

“Please” you interrupt. 

He closes his eyes and leans in, pressing his lips onto yours, his movements full of care and passion. His hand moves up from your back to your head, his strong arms holding you firm and warm. Your lips separate and his tongue carefully maneuvering into your mouth. You follow his lead and move yours out, into his. You lift up your knee, sliding your leg up his and wrap around it. His hand moves down, and places his hand on your knee, before he starts to slide it up the outside of your thigh. Once his hand got to your hip, he stopped kissing you and pulled away. An affectionate smile on his face as he replaced his hand onto your cheek, giving you a small peck before asking “Feeling hungry?”

You smile at him, though your brows betray you in showing your confused “yeah?” 

“Well..lucky for us, we have the world’s best macaroni and cheese chef on the premises” he says, a bright smile spreading across his face. 

“You’re going to cook for me?”

“Yep!” he says, getting up from the bed, and picking you up in his arms, bridal style, “and listen, if I burn anything… my bad” he says, though he doesn’t seem too apologetic about it. 

“Well, it sounds great” you say, before gripping onto his shirt tightly as he carries you down stairs. 

Once you get downstairs he places you at the table and starts to go through a bag that he says Ford gave him when he dropped him off. He grabs something and places it next to a pot in the kitchen. 

“You brought Kraft?” you ask, a teasing smile on your face. 

“ppSshhhhh nooo…. My mac and cheese is a secret family recipe, I’d never….” he pauses, and you can see his lips turn down as he tries to hold back a laugh, but is unsuccessful, and lets out a heavy laugh “no yeah, Ford gave me some Kraft, is that okay?” 

“Yeah, that’s good” 

Stanley turns and smiles brightly at you, his dampened mood no longer present  
“good”


	4. Not Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning  
> talk of past self harm and anxiety

You can’t remember exactly how it happened, but for some reason, you invited Stanley to spend the night in bed with you. It’s not like you regret it, just surprising.

Waking up Sunday morning, your legs were entangled with his under the sheets, and his arms holding you close to his chest. It felt so safe and secure, you could swear that you could sleep hours more like this… 

He looks so soft, and sweet sleeping like this… your hand moves up and ups his cheek, small hints of light scars from boxing fights and violence. If you hadn't gotten to know him, and maybe if you saw him out in public, he’d look pretty intimidating… but you know he’s a big softy, who’s dealing with a lot. 

You lift his arm that’s wrapped around you, and take hold of his hand in yours. You maneuver it around, and look at all the intricacies. His left hand had scars all over his knuckles, and one long scar on his middle knuckle that looks as though it was stitched up, with little dots on both sides of the scarring. You’d look at his right hand if it was more accessible, but that was underneath you, and wrapped around your abdomen. 

Your fingers move down his forearm, but something catches you off guard. There are a series of lines you felt under your fingertips. You turn it so you could get a better look, and you can see a series of scars, some almost unnoticeable, while others are raised and light in pigment. They were mostly moving across, but there were some that went down vertically. He did this to himself didn’t he… ?

You sit up, fully awake from your discovery. You reach for his right arm, and see even more cuts than the left, in straighter lines. How could you have not seen this? His arms are harry… it’s easy not to notice at first. 

“What are you doing…?” you hear Stanley ask, his voice low and groggy from sleep. He reaches his left arm out, and pulls your head down onto his chest. “It’s too early…” 

You bite your words for a few moments. How should you go about this…. “Stanley…?” 

He hums in response, and makes a small circle on your back with his hand. 

“You like me right?” 

He peeks one eye open “noooo...I lay in bed like this with people I hate, just get Hitler, I’ll prove it” that coming from someone who’s Jewish, is very rich. 

You roll your eyes “Stanley, be serious” 

“But are you seriously asking about my feelings for you?...” he asks “I thought it was obvious” 

“Just… answer” 

“Yes, sweet heart...I like you, a lot” he says “lots of those feelings and such” he adds on with a small kiss to your forehead. 

“Are you honest with me?” you proceed

He hums thoughtfully “yeah?...why…?” he asks, scooting up in the bed to sit up more. 

“Are the cuts on your arms the only ones…?” you ask softly

You can feel his body stiffen under you, while his hands stop making circles. “Um…” 

“Please..” you say, lifting your head off of him to look in his eyes “you know you can tell me….”

“Will it change anything…? If you like me...would you stop…?” 

“No...it won’t change anything….I like you Stanley, and I just...I care about you” you say, gently placing a hand on his cheek. He looks away, moving his face away from your hand. 

Without another word, he lifts his shirt and lowers his pajama pants a few inches. You down to see newer scars. Scars that were still red in pigment, and a few that were scabbed over. While you look at them, his face is turned away, and it’s hard to see his expression. Besides the self harm, there were scars that look like stabs or punctures… that were poorly stitched back together. 

“When was the last time you did it…?” you ask quietly, practically a whisper. 

“You won’t like the answer…” he mumbles, still avoiding your gaze. 

“Stanley please…” you say, moving up to place your face in front of his, but he closes his eyes in retaliation “You trust me...right?” 

He opens his eyes barely, to look at you and raises a brow “Is that a requirement?” your soft gaze turns serious as you raise your brows in mild frustration “Yes, I trust you…” he sat quietly for a few moments before continuing “It was my first night here... lots happened… I felt like a burden to you, and you seemed nice but just… pitied me or something…” 

“Stanley…”

“but...I know you don’t JUST pity me, right?” He asks with a curved brow and a hint of a smile. 

“I don’t pity you, Stanley… am I concerned for your well being? Definitely, one hundred percent.” you say, your eyes serious, but a small smile tugged at your lips. Looking at his face, you almost forgot what you were talking about with him “but Stanley… promise me…you’ll give me whatever you did it with...and that you’ll come to me when you feel like doing that again…?” 

He looks at you for a few moments, before nodding “yeah I promise” 

“Pinky promise?” you ask, holding out your pinky. He smiled, and intertwined his pinky with yours. 

“Pinky promise” 

~~~

“Okay, but like..what the hell is going on?” Stanley asks, pointing to the tv. 

They were showing some episodes of the twilight zone, and since Stanley said he’s never seen it, but that Ford has, you thought you’d give it a go. 

“Uh… it looks like...they’re picking new bodies?” you say, just as confused as he was. Granted, the twilight zone did that. 

“But...those are real people..aren’t they? Like yeah, I know, they’re actors, but like… are the characters supposed to just see them as skin suits? I mean LOOK, that one’s breathing!” 

“Stanley… I’m sure if you watch longer, we’ll find out” you say, a soft smile on your face. 

He lets out a heavy huff of air, but smiles, and stretches his arm over your shoulders and says “fine” with fake irritation. 

~”Mrs. Holt? Mr. Holt”  
~a young man came out of a doorway, wearing nothing but boxers, smiling at the old woman  
~ “Marie, Look at me”

“That’s not possible” Stanley says with squinted eyes and a look of frustrated confusion. 

~”See what I can do?” he asked, waving his arms and laughing excitedly. He jumped onto a couch and started doing push ups “and there’s no pain, Marie” 

Your eyes gaze at Stanley, who’s just squinting at the television “what is it?” 

“You think something like that is possible? Like with the science stuff you and Ford do?” He asks with a raised brow. 

“Uuuuhhhh…. I don’t know? You mean like… get a new body?” you ask curiously

“That or like...switch bodies? Sixer and I used to switch clothes, and see if we could get away with pretending to be the other… I could even” he pauses to clear his throat “talk in his voice, I’m Stanford Pines” he says, his voice sounding just like his brothers. His eyes went soft, his voice normal again “of course, we’d get figured out pretty easily when he gets bullied AND fights back.” His expression is hard to tell. Is this...nosologic? Upsetting?... 

“You okay, Stanley?” You ask softly, leaning your head on his shoulder. 

“No yeah, I’m okay, just thinking…” he says quietly. He sat quietly staring at the television, but with the episode ending and his lack of comments, you assume he’s zoning out in thought. After a few more moments and a new episode starts up, he shifts his body to look at you “Do ya think he’d be fine without me?” 

“Stanford? Uh… I’m not sure what you mean by that” you say, lifting your head off his shoulder. 

“I just have this feeling that he’s going to leave… like he’s really good in school… and I saw a counselor trying to talk to him about colleges once but when I asked him about it, he just shrugged… I mean… there's schools nearby… but… I’ve stood up for him our whole lives… what if something happens and I can’t be there for him…?” 

“I… I don’t know…” you say quietly. There are only so many things to do. Stanley could go to school...wait to sail around the world… no. He can just hope Stanford is safe…? No. It’s… it’s too hard to tell… you should talk to Stanford if Stanley won’t. 

“Maybe I’m just worrying over nothing…” He says, in hopes of reassuring himself. “We’ve never been separated too long… he’s my best friend… it’d be..weird without him.” 

“Hey, don’t worry okay? You could just talk to him, figure out what’s happening?” 

“Yeah… I should just ask him…” 

~~~ 

At the end of the third episode in a row of The Twilight Zone, Stanley gets up and curiously walks through your house. 

“What are you doing?” you ask, peeking over the back of the couch. 

“Just… looking… do you have any music?” He asks, stopping in the middle of the living room. 

“Oh yeah, right here…” you say, getting up from the couch, and walking towards your record player “see?” 

“Oh! Nice” he says excitedly as you pull out your record collection “what kind of things do you have?” 

“Oh uh...little bit of everything?” you say, not really sure how to answer that. You weren’t even sure what kind you had at this point, your parents just kept bringing more music home. You watch him curiously as he flips through the records, making various humming sounds. 

“Oh nice! Elvis-” he freezes, looking at the record case “are you serious?” he asks, sounding baffled. You hum in curiosity and look at the case “IT’S SIGNED?” he asks, his eyes wide. 

“oh... yeah that’s right.” you say flippantly. 

He turns his gaze to you, a look of bewilderment stuck on his face “seriously?” you just nod, and he looks back at the case. Squints his eyes and bites his bottom lip for a moment before removing the record and placing it down. He slouches over to make sure he got the needle to drop just right and he quickly turned around and scooped you into his arms to the upbeat music. 

~ you know I can be found ~ sittin’ all alone ~  
~ if you can’t come around ~ at least please telephone ~  
~don’t be cruel ~ to a heart that’s true ~ 

He’s light on his toes as he tries to encourage you to dance more freely to the music. His smile is bright as he twirls you around and you dance to the music. You’re almost surprised at his footwork, but considering he’s been in boxing since he was around eleven. 

~ baby if I made you mad ~ for something I might have said ~  
~ please let’s forget the past ~ the future looks bright ahead ~  
~ don’t be cruel ~ I got a heart so true ~  
~ I don’t want no other love ~ honey it’s just you I’m thinkin’ of ~

“You having fun?” he asks, a toothy smile spreading from his mouth to his eyes. His brown eyes shine bright with affection. 

“Lots” you say with a small laugh, a smile’s been stuck on your face for so long, you’re sure that your face will be sore later. 

“Me too, Sunshine” He says while smiling sweetly, before quickly dipping you, pulling you up, and spinning you around. Your dress twirling all around you. 

~~~~~

Sleeping next to him was comfortable… 

It gave you a sense of security that sleeping alone in a locked house didn’t have. 

You thought that maybe he’d ask you to be his girlfriend yesterday after how things went, but he seems to be taking his time. 

...but for someone taking his time, he is very into sleeping in bed with you for two nights in a row… 

~~~~~

Your morning was pretty normal, or at least as normal as it has been with Stanley in your house. 

When you got to chemistry class Stanford greeted you cheerfully “Hey, how was your weekend?” 

You squint your eyes at him for a moment “why are you talking like you weren’t there for part of it?” 

His eye looks much less swollen now, small hints of blue but mostly green and yellow. His lip still had a scab but it wasn’t swollen at all anymore. “Just curious” his eyes are inspecting your face like he’s trying to read your mind or at least figure something out. “ Anything fun happen yesterday?” 

“Uh… not much? I mean we watched The Twilight Zone, and danced to Elvis…” you pause and raise a brow “Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“Stanley didn’t ask you anything?” he asks curiously. 

“No?” you say. Ah, that’s what Stanford’s trying to figure out. His expression relaxes at your words, and a small ‘huh’ escapes his mouth. 

“That’s surprising…” Stanford says after a few minutes of looking down at some notes he was copying from the teacher “if it was the other way around, I’m sure he’d tell me to ask you out” 

You raise a brow and tease “well, would you ask me out?” 

He drops his pen “uh…” he would but all he does is look back up at you “ Probably not? Because you obviously like Stanley and vice versa” he picks back up his pencil and continues with his notes “and besides, I like having you as a friend, Stanley’s last girlfriend didn’t really like having me around too long” 

You hum thoughtfully “does she come here?” 

“Carla? Yeah, she comes here…why?” he asks, looking at you through his glass lenses, his eyes almost completely hidden by the reflection. 

“Just wondering…” 

You get a little further in class before a loud announcement calls over the speakers “Pines twins to the principal’s office. Stanley and Stanford Pines to the principal’s office.”

You and Stanford exchanged glances before he was dismissed from class, packing up his things and leaving. 

Aaaaaand… now you’re alone. 

Chemistry class always was a lonely class… 

Well, not for long, because within fifteen minutes your name was being called to come up to the principal's office as well. Which was odd, because you have a pretty clean record, you hope it doesn’t have anything to do with the twins. 

Surprise. 

It has to do with the twins. 

You can see Stanley sitting outside, his face in his hands as he slouches over. He doesn’t notice you.

“Thank you for coming, please close the door and sit down.” The principal was sitting behind his desk, you’ve never been in the principal’s office before… Why does he have a huge photo of Nixon? He was Eisenhower’s vice president but… what else? Nothing really, he’s running for governor of California...right? 

There were two people in the office you didn’t recognize… a man wearing sunglasses inside, a hat, and a dark brown suit, alongside a very pregnant woman with long dark hair. Stanford’s sitting in the middle, holding his cast and nervously picking at it. His expression is hard to read, but your mind is elsewhere… Why was Stanley just sitting outside?

One you sit down the Principal shows you some student files “Do you know these gentlemen?” 

You look down at the pictures, they’re the guys from the beach… they come here? “Sure, but they aren’t gentlemen.” you say seriously. You can feel the man in the brown suit staring at you through those sunglasses. You’re sure those are their parents? Their father… Filbrick was it? Fuck that man. Fuck him. If this whole thing is about Stanley punching the guys from the beach, how would it go if you punched Filbrick? More like Fil-prick. Ugh. 

“Care to elaborate?” 

“Well…” you say, interlocking your fingers together. If you lie and Stanley told the truth, it would it go poorly… he should have told the truth...he was just protecting you. “I was walking with Stanley at glass shard beach… they tried to grab me...and Stanley saved me…” if you admit that they tried to antagonize him, that won’t help… 

“I see… when 'saving you' did 'Stanley Romanoff Pines' act violently?” he asks, taking down notes. 

“There was no other option” you say softly, but your expression was firm. 

The principal hummed with taking down some notes. “Well, in the case of this incident, Stanley will not be expelled.” you can hear Stanford let out a sigh of relief along with his mother. Seems like SHE does care, but Filbrick doesn’t seem to care at all. Granted, from what Stanley told you about his dad threatening the asylum if he has more careless violence, you’re not surprised.  
If he got expelled… would his dad send him there?

You and the Pines family exit, and you are met with a quick hug from Stanley before he quickly retracted himself after his father turned his attention to him. 

“Oh? Stanley? Is she your girlfriend?” Mrs. Pines asks, smiling at her son. Stanley smiles softly to his mom. 

“Well.. no… not yet…” he says softly. His mom gently places a hand on his cheek and smiles at him. 

“Oh my little free-spirit…” she says affectionately. You can see Stanley gently lean into his mom’s hand. Stanley quickly stiffens when Filbrick clears his throat to get Mrs. Pines’ attention. She pulls her hand back, but offers him one more look before mouthing ‘love ya’. When she walks past you she takes a hold of your hands and stops for a moment. 

“We must have you over for dinner some time” she says to you with a genuine smile. 

“I’d love that” you say, smiling back. 

You can hear Mr. Pines audibly scoff at the idea. 

You try to ignore it for a moment while you say goodbye to their mother. 

You and the twins drag your feet for a while till you’re sure their parents are gone. “Your mom seems nice” you say awkwardly. 

The twins let out a small laugh at your comment. 

“Well I’ll uh… I’ll see you after school?” Stanley asks, hopefully. 

“Of course” you say, a small smile on your lips “may I?” you ask, he nods gently and angles his face for you to kiss his cheek. 

“See you after school, Sixer!” he calls out to Stanford before he turns the corner. 

You turn to Ford, who is just tapping the point of his toe on the ground, scratching at his cast. 

“You know, scratching it like that isn’t going to get it off sooner?” you say with a tilted head. 

He looks up at you, confused for a moment, then he stops scratching at it “yeah I know, just… thinking…” 

“What’s eating you?” you ask as the two of you try to make it back to chemistry class in time to catch the assignments. 

“Do you ever think about what you want to do after high school?” he asks awkwardly.

“Well sure, Stanley even asked me a similar question…” 

“What do you think you’d do?” he asks, looking down at his cast. 

“Well… I’ve always thought about going to West Coast Tech, it’s nice, it’s expensive but… my parents can afford it. They have a great program for robotics and engineering in the medical field… why do you ask?” 

“well...I’ve been...thinking about going to college…” he admits “I mean, we can’t really afford it, so it hasn’t really ever been a thing I really thought through… but…” he scuffs the bottom of his shoe as to kick at the ground “a counselor told me that my grades are good enough that I could get a full ride scholarship to Backupsmore…” 

“Well that sounds great, Stanford” you say, offering him a smile, he smiles in response but it slides off his face. 

“...thanks… it’s just… Stanley and I had this childhood dream...sail around the world..explore and treasure hunt..but… I just… it’s not realistic for real life...we were kids… and the Stan O’ War is not that big… not big enough for open sea… for months…” 

You stop walking, and look down a hall that goes down a unneeded direction “Stanford…” you start, you hear his steps stop, and you look back over to him “you need to talk to Stanley about this… I appreciate you opening up to me” you say, catching back up to where he stopped “but… seriously… you guys just need to sit down, you’re brothers, twins even...and you both suck at communicating with the other…” 

‘Yeah, you’re right…” he says at the classroom door “but can you not say anything about it to him? I just...I want to figure myself out before I talk to him about it…” 

“Okay, Stanford.” 

~~~~~~

After dropping Stanford off at Pines Pawns, you and Stanley share a quiet car ride. You can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking about. 

Once both of you walk through the threshold of your door, closing it behind you, you hear a thunk on the ground behind you. 

“Stanley? What’s wrong?” you say, panicked, he fell down to his knees, covering his face in his hands as his head hit the floorboards. “Stanley...please talk to me…” you say, kneeling down next to him. He’s breathing fast. 

“I can’t…” he mumbles between breaths, you can see one of his hands moving down from his face to his chest. He’s practically hyperventilating. 

“Stanley… you need to breathe, okay? Just…” you lean down, trying to breathe in slowly and out slowly, in hopes of helping him. He tries for a moment, even sitting up, but he only stumbles back, hitting his back against the door. You try to get him at least in a sitting up position against the wall. 

“Please… you need to slow down your breathing…or else you’ll pass out…” you hold your hands in front of your chest, gently moving them up as you breathe in and down as you breathe out. His fingertips move into his hair, dismantling his gelled hair. His eyes are squeezed shut. 

You try to demonstrate the breathing again, it doesn’t help. You scoot forward, staying on your knees, and pull him into you, placing his head right over your heart. “Try breathing with me… listen to my heart if it helps…” 

After a few moments, his breath slows down, but remains heavy. Your hands hold the back of his head, and you move your fingers through his hair, messing it up entirely. His arms move from himself to wrap his arms around you. 

You sit there together for much longer than comfortable, but you give him time to recuperate. Even after his breathing slows down, he still sits there quietly, holding you, listening to your heartbeat next to his ear. 

You weren’t sure if you should say something or wait for him, but he spoke up “he said he was going to send me away… said if the stories didn’t match then he’d send me off to an Asylum…” his words are strained “a violent liar” he mumbles “I know from how he acted he thinks you were in on it…” his arms tighten around your body, “he thinks I’m better off gone…” 

You wait a while, just in case he wasn’t done, but after no continuation “I wouldn’t let him send you away… Stanford wouldn’t… and I’m sure your mom wouldn’t either...and if there ever comes a day where you can’t go home...well...this can be your home… you won’t be treated badly here… I can keep you safe…” 

He let out a quiet sad laugh, and looked at you, leaning his forehead against yours 

“we’ll keep each other safe then…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading, I hope this wasn't too heavy :(  
> Please take care <3
> 
> HunkleJunk did some art for this story and the Stanford route, Check it out on their tumblr @hunkleJunk  
> or at my Instagram @Mother_Mortician_


	5. Someone in your corner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stanley has some questions

When you woke up, your face was pressed against Stanley’s back, with your arm draped over his chest. Spooned comfortably against him. 

You can hear his steady storing as he sleeps in front of you, he seems so peaceful… It was hard seeing him so pained like the day before. He didn’t even want to eat dinner, he just went upstairs and laid in bed. He told you just to go about your day, and that the two of you could talk in the morning. He ended up falling asleep fairly quickly, but that didn’t stop you from checking in on him, just to make sure… 

However, sometime past midnight he knocked at your bedroom door, asking if it was okay to come in with you. Which caused you to lead him to your bed, and hold him under the sheets. After you were together, he didn’t say much, just held you in his arms. You didn’t press him to talk, but you did ask if you could kiss his head, to which he nodded. 

Now, your heavy eyes pull at your face as you prepare your body to get up and out of bed. Unfortunately for Stanley, you were against the wall, meaning you have to crawl over him to get out of the bed. Which meant, he’ll probably wake up. 

As you make your way over him, you hear a sharp breath in, and you see his eyes flash open and his head turn to you. First he looks scared and startled, but after looking into your eyes he just looks confused. Then adjusting to lay on his back, unintentionally causing you to straddle his thighs, “what’re doin’?” he asks, his voice groggy from sleep. 

“Trying to get out of bed” 

“Right…” he answers, a small relieved smile tugged on his lips before his hands grip your hips. Before you knew it, he was lifting you off of him, and helping you off the bed. Once your feet are on the floor, he sits up in the bed, his fingers comb through his hair, causing it to flop forward onto his forehead. “Sorry for taking up your space…” 

“No it’s okay” you say, before a massive yawn escapes you, causing a tired chuckle to escape Stanley. 

“I beg to differ” 

You smile at him soft, before turning around to start digging through your clothes. You hear one loud ring before Stanley quickly shuts it off. 

“Speaking of ringing bells…” 

Which you weren’t, but you’re too tired say otherwise. 

“Do you think you’d be interested in....” he trails off and bite the inside of his cheek “no, nevermind…” 

You turn around, holding a dark navy long sleeve turtleneck and black pants. “No it’s okay, just ask” you reassure. 

“well..I was wondering… if you would want to come to the boxing meet during school..but I’m sure you have class…” his words fade off as he stares down at his fiddling thumbs. 

You look at him silently before asking “what time is it at?” 

His warm brown eyes look up at you “it’s at eleven thirty” 

“I should be able to make it, I don’t have any tests today...and I can just turn in my assignments and pick the ones up for tonight…” you think aloud “yeah, I can go do that” you say, offering him a smile “you wanna show off for me?” 

His eyes widen “what? No, that’s not it…” he responds, his voice higher than his average low tone “I just...I’d to have someone there for me in my corner” 

“Oh” you say, before taking a few steps forward and sitting back on the bed with him, placing your head on his shoulder. 

“And I meeeaaan… If I show off, that’s totally unintentional” he adds, stifling his laughter. You turn your head to look at him, but by that point he’s already stone faced. The only tell tale sign is that his eyes looked happy. However, when they meet your own eyes, they soften. He leans in a few inches before stopping himself. 

“It’s okay,” you whisper, reassuring him. 

He leans in all the way, pressing his lips against yours. A small sigh escapes him as he pulls a hand up to hold your cheek. It was short and sweet, but you can still feel the warmth in your chest. 

“I uh… I have a question…” he whispers, his forehead against yours. 

“Yes..?” 

He pulls his head back so he can look at your face, his expression looks tense but his eyes are soft “I was wondering if...you’d wanna be… my…” he pauses, and retracts his hand from your cheek to place both hands on his knees. Despite your words and actions, a part of his mind is telling him that you’ll say no, that you’re just getting a kick out of him or something…. Anything but you feeling the way he is. These kisses you give him are nothing more than..’experimentation’, not due to you wanting him to kiss you. Despite the fear... his heart feels full when you’re together, like he could be falling in love... But that’s ridiculous…to think those feelings would be reciprocated. Why would you ever fall in love with him? He’s been told for his whole life that he was good for nothing...what reason is there for him to be with someone who makes him feel like he could be himself? Someone who accepts him. Comforts him. Tries to understand him. Doesn’t invalidate him. How could someone as worthless as him...deserve someone as amazing as you? “nevermind…just forget I said anything”

“Stanley…” you say, placing a hand on his “you know you can ask me..right?...” you say, hoping you’re right with your guess. What he was going to ask. 

He looks at your hand on his, but he pulls away his hand. “No..it...it was stupid for me to think...” If he admits that he may be falling in love. If he asks you to be his girlfriend. If he offers you his heart… and you reject it, or worse… take it just to break it...it’ll hurt much worse. Wouldn’t it? However, the idea of not being with you… to somehow exchange hearts, and feel the way he feels with you all the time...with hopes of the feeling amplifying… to not be able to hold you..or kiss you...it ate away at him. If you feel the same. If you could be falling in love with him...even if there was a chance of you falling in love with him... if you could be the one…. Why would he miss that chance? Why would he deserve that chance? 

“I’m sure it wasn’t stupid, Stanley…” you say softy, leaning your head forward to look him in the eye. 

He looks at you then clenches his firsts against his knees before relaxing them “I want to be with you” he admits aloud.

“I know-”

“Like.. I really want to be with you… and… I just… would you want to be with me?”when the words come out, he sounds scared or nervous, his voice is shaking and he’s forcing himself to look you in the eyes, despite wanting to look away or just take back his words. 

“I do want to be with you” you say, trying to offer a reassuring smile.

“Will you...be with me..?” 

“Of course” you place a hand up on his cheek, “why would I ever say no?” 

“Well i can think of a couple reasons…” 

“Stanley…” you slide your thumb over his cheek bone “I want to be with you...and… I will” 

HIs expression relaxes as the words escape your lips, and a smile replaces his clenched teeth “so… you’re my girlfriend?” 

You smile at his growing excitement as the words finally feel real “yeah Stanley, and you’re my boyfriend” 

A full joyous smile spreads across his face, the panic he was feeling dissolving within his chest as his heart takes up all the space in his ribcage. His hands come up and hold both of your cheeks “may I?” you nod, and he pulls you into a sweet and long passionate kiss. Your heart flutters as his lips move against yours, and his fingers gently move against your jaw. He pulls away from the kiss, planting a small peck on your cheek , then standing up “I’m going to make some breakfast, and I’ll let you..” he pauses and gestures to the clothes you’re holding “get ready”. 

After getting out of the shower, and getting dressed, you head down stairs, the sweet smell of pancakes fills the entire kitchen “smells good, making Stancakes?” he quickly turns around, a confused smile on his face. “I mean Pancakes”

“No no no no” you says quickly, a goofy smile on his face “that’s not what you said” a laugh escaped him before he turns to flip the next pancake “and yes, I’m making STANcakes” 

You palm your face before coming up next to him “y’know you really didn’t have do all this effort” 

“I know but...I wanted to,” he says sweetly, turning to offer you a soft smile. He flips the pancake from the pan onto a nearby plate. “Okay, well you should eat, I’m going to shower and get ready”

“You’re not going to eat?” 

“kinda ate while you were in the shower” he said with a shrug, quickly pecking you on the cheek before running upstairs. “I hope that was okay!” he shouted down from upstairs. 

“It was!” you shout back, smiling as you look down at the pancake. Somehow he managed to make a smiley face with the batter. How could he ever think that he is unworthy of being happy?

~~~

Getting out of English class was easy, the only odd thing was apparently you, since your teacher was incredibly confused by your interest in the boxing meet. 

When you got into the gym, it smelt like sweat, canvas, and leather. There were some parents in the room, along with a few other students watching the meet. You wander aimless, until you see Stanley punching at the heavy bag. His hair is slicked back, and his smooth chest glistened with sweat. He was only wearing his essentials, his boxing shorts, his tall black boxing shoes, and bandages around his knuckles. 

“Am I late?” you ask from behind him, he suddenly stops punching, and places a hand on the bag to keep it from swaying. 

He gave you a bright smile, “no no no,” he says quickly, glancing up at the clock “just in time actually, my fight starts soon, I’m just warming up” he picked up a canteen, took a few heavy gulps of water, before wiping his face “I was doing some stretches and other workouts before, so you didn’t miss much… besides uh..a not as sweaty me” he said, gesturing to his body. 

“That’s okay” you say, offering him a smile. “So what exactly is happening today…?” 

“We’re going to beat Rocky Shore High school” he said proudly “aaand I got a girlfriend today, so that was pretty amazing too” he added on, taking your hand in his. His hand is...very sweaty. From this close, you can see how bandaged his hands are, they cover the back of his hand and his knuckles, wrapped around carefully. “I’m really glad you came,” he says softly, his brown eyes looking into yours. 

“I’m glad you asked me to” you give his sweaty hand a squeeze, hoping you're not hurting him. 

“Stan Pines to the ring. Stan Pines and Mathew Campelter to the ring” 

Stanley lets out an irritated groan “ugh… Crampelter… this’ll be fun” 

You look over at the beefy blond kid stepping into the ring, he looks about your age, but it’s hard to tell. You look back at Stanley, who had pulled his hand out of yours and started slipping his gloves on. “Wish me luck” he said enthusiastically. 

You lean forward and kiss his cheek “good luck” his gloved hand comes up to where you kissed and a smile grows on his face before he turns and heads to the ring. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Oh wow, long time no see Pines, you ready to lose?” Crampelter says as soon as Stanley enters the ring. 

“Are you ready to graduate? Geez, how many times did you get held back, like 10?” Stanley asks back in a snarky tone. 

“Just 3, you dumbass” Crampelter snaps back “not everyone has a nerdy freak as a brother to cheat off of” 

“Watch what you say about him, or losing this match is going to be the least of your worries” Stanley says, his tone ice cold and serious. 

“Oh yeah? Like what?” 

*DING DING*  
Both Stanley and Crampleter shove their mouthguards in and get into position.  
Then, the referee singles them to start the match.  
/\/\/\/\/\

You can see the shift in Stanley’s footing as he shifts his weight on the balls of his feet. He looks mad about something, but you weren’t able to understand what they were saying before the match. 

Crampelter throws the first punch, trying to land a hit with a left jab. Stanley swiftly bends his knees and swoops out of the way, quickly throwing out a punch that lands against Crampelters ribs. Once he’s right up again, Stanley goes for a right jab, followed by a left hook. 

Crampelter manages to block the jab, but doesn’t even notice the hook until he’s hit. Stanley went for another jab, but is blocked, and punched on the right side of his rib cage, knocking the wind out of him. Crampelter thought he could get another punch in while Stanley caught his breath, but he underestimated him. 

Stanley landed punch after punch, it was faster than you could count, before he ended it with a gazelle punch, sending Crampelter to the ground. Crampelter was down for the count. 

“Stanley Pines is the winner”

You cheer from the sidelines, Stanley’s smile is full of pride as he looks at you. You can see his eyes shift behind you a second, his expression dropping. You turn around to see who he was looking at. It was a girl, with wavy dark brown hair, and a flower pushed in her hair. Her eyes meet yours and they flicker between you and Stanley, before her brows furrow, and she leaves the gym. She looks familiar but you aren’t sure… 

When you look back at the ring, Stanley is making his way out, you run down and meet him at the benches. 

“That was amazing Stanley! You totally beat him. You won!” you say smiling brightly at him. He takes the mouth guard out and smiles back at you. You quickly hand him his water and he downs the whole thing. 

“Thanks, Sweetheart. But, even if I lost, I’d still be a winner today” he takes off his gloves and takes your hands in his. The bandages around his hands are 

His words fill you with a fluttery sensation, and a wide smile spreads across your face. He tightens his hold on your hands “I really...wanna hug you right now...but… I’m disgusting” he says with a laugh. 

“You’re not disgusting” 

“But I don’t smell that great right now...and I’m covered in sweat…” he looks down at his gloves and his forearms “and some of Crampelter’s blood.” you look down and raise a brow “how does this sound, there's this table Ford and I sit at, it’s under the trees and I think there’s this weird...strip of orange paint. I gotta shower, but I’ll meet you there” He says sweetly. 

“Sounds like a plan” 

~~~

You sit there alone for a few minutes. Picking up on passing conversations about upcoming tests and a few sparse ones about the boxing fight today. Some people glanced at your table, and even asked if you were waiting for people, hoping to snag the table from you, but besides that the wait was boring and only a little awkward. To make the time go by faster, you decide to pull out your notes to go over for your next test. 

“So who the hell are you anyway?” you hear suddenly, and very closely. You look up and see the same girl from the meet with the flower in her hair, hands on the table as she leans over it.

“Well, this is my table, who are you?” you respond back calmly, whatever attitude she wants to bring over here, it’s not worth it. 

She scoffs and stands up all the way “are you sleeping with Lee?” 

You raise a brow, slightly confused, because technically yes. You have been sleeping with Stanley, but not having sex with him like she’s asking “why would it matter to you?”

“I was his girlfriend for years!” 

“Why are you yelling?” you respond calmly, is she trying to make you mad? Sure this whole thing makes you want to get up and leave, and you feel uncomfortable. But if this is about Stanley… Why is she acting so possessive? What’s her problem?

“You’re sleeping with him, aren’t you!” 

“Sleeping like a baby” you respond, offering her a condescending look. “Now, if you have nothing important to say, I’d appreciate it if you left” 

“I’ll leave when you fucking answer me-”

“Carla” You can hear Stanley’s voice, his tone is serious “what are you doing?” his eyes flicker to you before looking back to Carla. 

“Tell me it isn’t true, Lee” she pleads. 

Stanley’s serious expression only shifts slightly as he raises his eyebrows, and he looks back at you “we’ll be right back, sweetheart.” He looks back at his ex “Carla” he tilts his head to gesture for them to talk elsewhere. You watch them walk off together towards the trees to your side. You’re staring off in the direction to the point where you don’t even notice Stanford coming up to the table.

“Is everything okay?”

You turn your head at the sound of Ford’s voice “uh..yeah...well...no...I don’t know…” 

“What happened?” he asks, setting his book bag down at the table, his tone full with concern. 

“Well uh… some girl named Carla came by and was upset with me? And now Stanley and her are talking over there..” you say quietly, pointing over through the trees. 

Ford looks over, then back to you “what was she mad about?”

“She somehow guessed that Stanley and I are together so she-”

“Wait wait wait...Stanley and you are together now? When did that happen?” his eyebrows furrow up in the middle with confusion.

“Early this morning” 

“And you didn’t tell me?? We were JUST in class together this morning” he holds his hands out, gesturing with his questions. You raise your brows at him, then he places his hands back on the table “okay okay… so you’re together now...and Carla’s upset” you nod. He hums thoughtfully to himself for a few moments, he raises a finger and opens his mouth before closing his mouth and his hand into a fist. He looks down at the table in thought, before looking back up “I’m sorry about that” 

“It’s fi-” your words cut off as you see Stanley make his way back to the table, his expression tired, his hand holding his cheek.  
“Stanley, are you okay?”

He nods, but besides that, he’s silent, until he’s sitting at the table, and resting his forehead on the table “if I never had to deal with her ever again...I’ll be very happy…” he mumbles into the table. It was easy for him to see how poorly Carla treats him after seeing how well you treat him. She didn’t like it when he was too emotional, or even tried to express his concerns. She was controlling from day one. He saved her purse from a thief, then she expected him to be this hero manly man all the time. Sure, he was what she called ‘nerdy’ when they first met, but she quickly changed that. She kept him in a box. 

“What happened?” Ford asks from across the table. 

“weelllll….I told her that ‘Yes’, her and I are together” he says, gesturing between the two of you “and then she asked me why i didn’t wait for her, to which i said, tough shit.” 

“Did you really?” you ask quietly, he turns his face to look at you, his brows were furrowed and his hand was still on his cheek. 

“Kinda” he says before straightening his back “but...I hope she gets it...and that she won’t try yelling at you again…” his expression is apologetic, and he lowers his hand to place on yours “sorry about all that…” 

You look at him silently. Where his hand was, his skin was bright red… in the shape of a slender hand. 

“Did she…” you start to ask, raising your hand to touch his cheek but he flinches “she did…” you whisper aloud. Your hand is frozen in midair, inches from his face, and he lifts his hand to take yours, placing it on the table. 

“It’s okay,” he says quickly.

“It’s not…” you respond, sliding your hand out from his, your eyes move around the courtyard, where is she? Everywhere you look, she can’t be found… 

“Are you sure she won’t try to start any more trouble?” Stanford asks from the other side of the table. You can see his eyes glancing down at Stanley’s cheek, because going back to his twin’s eyes. 

“I am not sure” he admits “but we can hope” 

~~~

After school, Stanley drops Stanford back off at Pines Pawns, and the two of you head back to your own house. The car ride was pretty casual, he talked about wishing he didn’t have to drop Stanford off, and if it weren’t for his dad being mad at him, he could take Stanford over with him. He wasn’t sure how his dad found out that Stanford had been spending more time with Stanley, but with the fight and ‘lack of reason’, it was hard for Ford to convince his dad to go out and do anything. 

Once you walk into the house, the two of you sit down on the couch, tired from the long day. You have no idea how you managed to look so relaxed when facing Carla… but you’re glad you did. She doesn’t deserve to get you riled up. 

He closes his eyes as he lays his head on your shoulder, the red mark on his face faded away throughout the day, and finally was almost entirely gone. 

“Stanley?” you start, he hums and opens an eye so he can look at you “did she...did she hit you a lot when you were together?”

He lifts his head off your shoulder and turns his head to look at you “why do you ask?”

“Just...you were so quick to say it was okay…” you say quietly, feeling an ache in your chest. 

“Oh…” he pauses, debating whether to lie or not. He decided against it “yeah...she did…” 

You hum a small response, and sit there silently for a few moments, trying to get the words out, but the only words that make their way out of your mouth are “I could never do that to you” 

Stanley lets out a small sigh, then moves his hand down, lacing his fingers in yours, giving you a small squeeze “I know…” his other hand comes up to hold the back of your hand “I couldn’t either” 

You down at your hands together, you can see his knuckles have bruising of variation of colors “how are you feeling after the fight?” 

“Honestly? I bit sore…” he pulls his hand back to hold at his side “he’s always been a heavy hitter” 

You move your hands and hold them at the hem of his shirt, when you receive the okay, you lift his shirt up, and see what happened. He has a massive bruise, dark maroon with hints of other colors speckled in at some spots. “Does it hurt?”

“Yep” he says, leaning forward and looking at it “might be fractured...but last time that happened the doc just said to ice it and rest so… no real need to do anything big about it…” 

You look up from his torso to his face, “lay down then” you say, standing up from the couch, and gently pushing at his shoulders. 

He complies and lays down with a small groan. You get up and to get some ice from the freezer, placing it in a towel before coming back to Stanley. He gives you an appreciative smile as he takes it from you, placing it down on his bruise “You’re the best, you know that?” 

You let out a small laugh “I’m just trying to help you” you say, smiling at him.

“I know that, but… you are the best, truly” he takes your hand in his. 

You use your free hand and place it on his cheek, a soft smile on your face before planting a kiss on his forehead “well...thank you” you lift his head up, and slide under so his head is resting on your lap. “I think you’re the best too” you say, reaching over and holding his hand, resting it on his chest. “Even if you don’t think so sometimes” 

His smile is warm as he looks up at you. If he was right, if he was falling in love, he’s happy it’s with you. Maybe he doesn’t deserve this, maybe this is too good to be true, but it makes him feel like this is where he’s supposed to be. 

With you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're having a good day!  
> Take Care! <3


	6. Words Slip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning, brief talk of past child abuse.
> 
> If you want to go into a more detailed talk of past abuse   
> (which is the conversation they call back to)  
>  https://archiveofourown.org/works/26827288

“What if I don’t want to go back home…” 

It’s Friday morning, and his parents expected him to come home tonight. It’s been a week. The two of you haven’t even gotten out of bed yet since all he can think about is having to leave. His ‘punishment’ is over. Before, when he’d get kicked out, he’d sleep in his car, and take cold showers in the school gym, he wanted to come back home to get the comforts of a house. Yet, being here with you, it felt safe, and you gave him warmth and support… going back to his parents just… at least his dad… it seems like… it fills his chest with pain. 

“I understand if you don’t…” you say softly, holding his cheek in your hand “y’know if you want to stay here, you can…” 

“No… my mom wants to see me...and I do miss her and Ford…” he looks into your eyes then wraps his arms around your, pulling you tight against him, shifting the blanket down. He nuzzles his face in the crook of your neck, his beard stubble rough against your skin. 

“That’s okay…” you say, pressing a kiss onto his head, his wavy hair tickling your nose. 

You lay there holding each other in silence, and despite the tiredness you feel in your eyes, you’re glad to have woken up before your alarm. Stanley’s been up for an hour already, laying in bed next to you as you slept, his mind running rampant. Going from thought to thought, like twirling the dial on the radio, station to station...and sometimes all you get is overwhelming static. 

“I love you” 

Three words. Three words you didn’t expect to hear. Three words that came from Stanley’s mouth as he lays, holding you. Three words that mean so much. Yet, he couldn’t stop them from spilling out of his mouth. It was one of the things his mind was repeating in his head all morning. Laying together, sleeping together with his hand gently stroking the hair out of your face as you slept. He felt it. He feels it. He loves you. But as soon as the words were out there, he couldn’t just close that back up. ‘It’s too early, what am I thinking?’ he scorns himself in his mind. 

“What?” was all you could manage. It’s not like you didn’t feel a lot for him… you feel a lot for him… but love...being in love… you're not sure if you’re there yet. 

His body stiffens against you. He can’t think of what to say. Should he repeat it? His heart was pounding in his chest. He’s sure you don’t feel the same. He knows he said it way too early. 

“What did you say?” you ask, hoping he’ll say it again, maybe you heard him wrong, but you’re sure. You’re absolutely sure that he just told you he loves you. Hearing the words woke you up...maybe it was just your groggy sleepy mind. But you’re sure he said he loves you…

“I...I said….” he swallows heavy “I’m a Jew.” 

you can see that his eyes are wide “I’m Jew-ish…” he says between clenched teeth. His face is bright red, as he slaps himself in the face in his mind. 

Is that what he said? You could have sworn…

“Oh?” you ask “it kinda sounded like you said…” 

“Just thought it was a good time to tell you I’m jewish” he continues, his heart racing hard in his chest. “Yom Kapur was just last Monday too” he doesn’t know why he even brought that up. This isn’t an exam. He could swear he’s having a heart attack. 

You lay there, your fingers absentmindedly brushing through his ungreased hair “okay then…but I feel like I already knew that… did I?” 

“I don’t think so… I just told you how my dad said I had it better than Jewish kids in nazi Germany….and I mean...technically… Ford and I aren’t really practicing...so it doesn’t really matter if you knew or not.… but I mean like...I’m sure those nazis wouldn’t have cared if we were practicing judaism or not.” he let out a small sad laugh. The nerves all but gone as his mind starts to wander in a different direction. The words of the story he told you about what happened, ran through your mind...no wonder his dad thought he could use that to make his son deal with the abuse...You sit silently for a few moments, you’re not sure what to say to something like that… you’re mad...but sad..for Stanley...

“are you feeling okay?” 

“Ah..hmm… sure… just thinking about stuff… nazis...my dad… leaving… going back to my house…I’m okay with going back but... I really don't want to go…”

“If it makes you feel better...I don’t want you to leave either…” you say softly into his hair. 

“You don’t..?” he asks, sounding surprised, he lifts his head up, looking at you with wide brown eyes. 

“I don’t…” you repeat, and rub your thumb against his rough stubble “I mean...I’m alone here… with you here it’s nice...feels safe…. I mean what if I’m alone here and the Boston Strangler decides to show up? And I know that’s… unlikely...sort of… and my parents...well…” you pause, and let out a heavy sigh “I’m not even sure when they’re coming back...and sometimes… i just think..that they don’t think of me all too much… that they don’t miss me…” 

“Oh…I’m sorry it feels like that...I’m sure they think about you all the time, I mean...who wouldn’t?” Stanley says quietly before he shifts his body so that he’s sitting up more, and places a hand on the opposite side of you, holding himself above you “and well…if you ever feel alone...you can always count on me, because I’m not planning on going anywhere” 

You look up at him, his smile is soft and genuine, as his eyes lock with yours. There's a feeling overwhelming the heart pounding in your chest, this feeling he gives you...that he isn’t lying. 

“Thank you” you whisper, reaching a hand up to touch his cheek. He leans his cheek into your hand, closing his eyes.

“Of course”  
And there it was. The urge to say those words aloud. Those three words. Pour his heart out. Bad idea. It’s too early. He reaches a hand down, and slid the back of his fingers against your cheek, and gracefully flips his hand over to hold your cheek, his thumb softly gracing against your lips. His eyes look at your lips, before his eyes meet yours, silently asking if he could somehow silence his own lips with yours. Express his feelings without telling you. 

With a nod, Stanley presses his lips against yours, his heart overflowing with affection that begged to be released. Your arms wrap around his neck, unintentionally pulling him down, on top of you. In that moment, he felt himself get excited. He didn’t mean to. Part of his body just wants to give in. wants to give into his urges, but that isn’t right. If he learned anything from Carla, is that you shouldn’t rush someone when they aren’t ready. You just can’t do that. HE isn’t even ready. Not when he’s dealing with something as special as feelings. 

His kiss sends a shiver down your back, while your ribs buzz from his embrace, like you are full of a million bees. His lips are soft as they gently move against your own. You can tell he’s holding back, and you appreciate that. His body that was resting against yours, now held above yours with his elbows. 

As he pulls away, his eyes remain closed. Maybe this isn’t real, all just one long elaborate dream...if that was true, he’d never want to wake up. When he opens his eyes, he looks at you, like you’re the most amazing thing in the world. A small smile tugs at the left side of his lips as he looks at you. 

The ring of your alarm clock broke both of you out of your trance. He swiftly gets off the bed and reaches a hand out for you to take. A bright smile on his face, if he has to go back home, he wants the time he has with you to not be as shitty as things at home… an easily to accomplish desire. 

~~~~

If you could jump out of a moving car...you would have done it by now. 

SOMEHOW, Stanley convinced you to come to his house with him. Not for the night, but at least come, some sort of excuse to spend more time with you. If he just dropped you off at home after school, the likeness of him seeing you before Monday was close to nothing. You’ve seen their house from the outside, ‘Pines Pawns’, squeezed between a Belgium waffle diner, and a sandwich shop. 

It was just two days ago, Stanley told you a story of his first memory of his dad getting physical with him. It was hard to hear. Stanley was only seven or eight years old. Head under the water for getting paint on his dad’s suit jacket. Told him he should suck it up and deal with it like a man, the Jews in Germany dealt with much worse. 

How could you face a man like that after knowing he did something like that to his own son?

The drive over there, Stanley was pretty quiet, silently holding your hand between shift changes. Even Stanford sat quietly as he got to the end of The War of the Worlds. No radio, no conversations, just the rumble of the car on the street. This only increased your heart rate. Their mom seems nice… she seems to want to get to know you. Hopefully you could just talk with her, and just avoid their father...though, from the looks of it, their father is pretty keen on avoiding you. 

Ford was the first one to get out of the car. This is home to him, he may be emotionally neglected, but he doesn’t seem to experience the same abuse as Stanley. After a tight hand squeeze from Stanley, you both get out of the car. 

Walking into the shop entrance, you’re immediately met with FIlbrick Pines, who is standing behind the counter. 

“Children.” he says coldly, you see his head shift slowly as he looks at you through dark lenses “you didn’t ask to invite a guest” 

Both Stanley and Ford defensively stand in front of you. 

“Yeah.. I know, but I thought she could meet you and Ma…” Stanley says, grabbing your hand and lacing his fingers in yours. “Since we’re together now”

You can see one eyebrow raise from behind the lenses “what’s your name then” he says, his tone harsh. Your words come out quieter than you thought they would, but you still manage to introduce yourself. 

“What did they promise you?” 

“What?” you ask, confused by such a question. 

“Stanley doesn’t have money to bribe you with, so what? Did Ford promise to do your homework for you?” his voice is harsh as he asks, does he really think so little of them? 

“Pa, No, she’s already really smart, we have all of the same classes, A’s in all of them, without any help” Stanford defends. 

“Then that really doesn’t make sense” 

“What is that supposed to mean-” you start to ask, irritated, but you’re interrupted by Stanley.

“Then figure it out.” he says sharply, before pulling you deeper into the house. Stanford following you up the stairs. 

You can hear a record playing as you reach the second story, it sounded very happy,upbeat, and jazzy, countering the harsh mood from downstairs. You can hear faint humming mixing along with the music.

“Ma, we’re home” Stanley calls out as he reaches the top of the stairs. 

“Oh my.. Stanley!” she eyes almost water at the sight of him,before rushing over to her son “Oh I’ve missed you so much” she says, pulling him into a hug and pressing a kiss on his cheek. 

“Ma, please” he says before clearing his throat to get her attention, his face bright red, as the embarrassment settles in. 

She looks up from her son, locking eyes with you, and a wide smile spreading across her face. She releases Stanley and quickly goes to hug you “it is so good to see you again!” 

“It’s good to see you too,” you say, offering her a genuine smile. You can see Stanley hastily rubbing the lipstick mark off his cheek. 

She releases you from the hug and goes to wrap her arms around Stanford, you can hear quiet whispering, but understanding what she’s saying is hard. However, you can’t help but guess from seeing Stanford’s eyes move from you to Stanley, and his nod that she’s asking if you two are together. 

Once she releases Ford from the hug, she smiles brightly at you, pulling you into another hug “Welcome to the family!” she says joyously. Your eyes widen, and you swear your face changes it’s shade. From out of your field of view, you can hear Stanley choke on nothing but air, followed by the soft sound of Stanford patting his brother’s back. 

Then there was a thump on your abdomen, causing you to slowly pull away from Mrs. Pines “I guess the little one wanted to welcome you too” she says, smiling brightly.

An awkward laugh escapes your lips before you manage to play it off “that’s awfully sweet” you say, finally taking a half step away from her. Her hand rests on her belly before quickly reaching out and pulling your hand to the spot. “Ah..” you mumble out, turning to look at the boys, Stanford’s expression looked encouraging, a gentle smile on his face and slight amusement in his eyes. Stanley on the other hand… he held his face in both of his hands, hiding a massive blush. A small giggle escaped you, but it was cut short when you felt movement under your hand. “Oh wow” it felt like small fingers moving under a thick layer of canvas. An exhale of nervous laughter escapes you as you pull away “t-thanks… they’re a real mover in there”

“Thankfully there’s only one in there this time” she says with a laugh. 

“You’re gonna jinx yourself there, Ma” Stanley says with a laugh, trying to pretend that he wasn’t just embarrassed a moment ago. 

“Oh I won’t, I’m psychic, I know these things” she says with a bright smile and a wink. 

“I’m pretty sure you said that last time” Ford adds with a laugh “I guess you were just reading the cards wrong?” 

“Oh ha ha very funny” she says, mocking irritation, but the smile on her face betrayed her. “You knucklehead” he says endearingly.

“Whaat?” he asks, with a wide smile, but he still earned a small arm punch from Stanley. 

“Okay okay, Ma, I just, I wanted you to meet her” he says, trying to wrap it up “but then I gotta take her back home” 

“Aw…” she says, her cheek tugging against her teeth “that’s a real shame..” then she turns over to you “I’d love to have you over for dinner” 

“Thank you, but I have a lot of assignments to get to…” you say softly, feeling bad for just leaving after meeting her. She seems like a very nice lady “maybe we can go to breakfast sometime? My treat?” 

Her smile turns soft, her eyes flicker at Stanley before they move back to you “that sounds wonderful” 

Stanley takes your hand and offers his mom and brother a smile before heading back towards the stairs. 

“Wait!” you hear his mom call out to you.

You turn around, your eyes wide as you ask “yeah?” 

“Here, I want you to have this” she says smiling, handing you a photograph of two small babies. The one on the fight being Stanley, and the one on the left with obvious six fingers being Stanford. 

You smile at the photograph, looking at your boyfriend at such a young age, he’s such a cutie “thank you for this” you say, lifting the photo up. You flip it over to see that there was also a tarot card on the back, two illustrated people holding hands labeled ‘love’. The thought of it causes your face to change in shade, then the words that came from Stanley that morning ran through your head. You heard him right… he did say… 

You look back up at her, startled to see she was smiling at you “I am a psychic after all” she says with a wink. 

“OKAY, that’s nice, we’ll we gotta go, say bye, be back home in a bit, bye” all the words spew out of Stanley at an impressive speed. 

Before you knew it, you’re sitting in the front seat of his Diablo. You vaguely remember seeing his father talking with a customer in the shop before exiting.

He’s quiet and still a bit flustered as he starts the car up, but once he’s driving, he places his right hand down to hold your left. 

“Stanley…” you start. The thought of the words he dismissed this morning were running through your head. 

“Yes, Sweetheart?” he asks, leaning his head over to look at you once he completed his turn. 

“How...how do you feel about me?” you ask, your voice quiet as the words run through your mind over and over. 

“I… I lo-like you a whole awful lot” he says, slightly stammering over his slip up. 

You sit in silence for the rest of the drive. You want to say more, but you don’t want to mess up and say the wrong thing. So you sit and think until you’re back in front of your own house. 

“How do you really feel about me?” you ask, as he stands by your door, opening it up for you. 

“Well I just told you?” he says, a brow quirked. “What? Do you not like the answer?” he asks, his brows furrowed with confusion and a small hit of fear that he fucked up. 

“It’s not that...just… this morning...you said…” you say, taking his hand and stepping out of the car.

His face turns red as he realizes that you’ve been thinking about it, and that he isn’t as smooth about it as he thought he was. “Uh… what did you hear?” he asks, picking up your book bag and walking beside you to your front door.

“You said that… that...you love me…” you say, your own cheeks turning red as you spill his words back out. 

He looks down at the ground, and kicks at it “I did say that.... but….I understand it’s...very sudden…” he admits, still avoiding your gaze. He mouths the word ‘stupid’ to himself, with his brows slight furrowed.

“So you do…?” you ask softly. 

“I…” he pauses, and bites at the inside of his cheek, but relaxes his brows “I think so… it’s… the only answer I can think of… it just...I always feel better when I’m with you...and you just… you make me think about the future...and think about… us and…” he lets out an frustrated groan “this is stupid...I’m sorry...I should have just kept my trap shut…” 

You reach a hand out and take his hand in yours “Stanley...I’m not… rejecting your feelings….I feel very strongly for you too… I don’t know if I could say I love you right now… but… I think that I could fall...” 

He gives your hand a small squeeze “well… when you do know… could you...tell me...?” he asks gently. 

“You’ll be the first person I tell” you say with a smile, before turning the key in the door, and stepping inside. Once you’re both inside he reaches a hand up to your cheek, his eyes asking silently to show you affection, your expression softens as your head nods ever so slightly. He leans in, his lips pressing against yours softly, yet full of emotion…

When he pulls away, he quirks his lips and glances to his car then back to you, his brows curved up in the middle as he worries about facing his dad after talking back. “Wish me luck?” he asks, his hand giving yours a small squeeze.

“Good luck” you say, reciprocating the small squeeze “and know, if you need to leave, you can come back here” 

His worried expression softens “you’re the best” it’s not what he wants to say, not really, but it’ll have to do for now.

“So are you”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good Morning, hope everyone is having a good day <3 
> 
> Thanks OolongTeacup for helping me with figure out puns <3


	7. Is This okay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snow Ball affect.  
> You just start rolling it, then...oh my god..that got pretty big pretty fast. I didn't mean to make this snow man this fast, but that's a pretty nice snowman you got now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS VERSION IS CENSORED, 
> 
> interested in the uncensored version, hope on over using this link  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/27052447  
> or just going to my works page <3
> 
> if You know what XXX means, you know what happens. it's legal in New Jersey. sex. I'm talking about sex.  
> is it too soon? mmhm.  
> sometimes it happens though.

Dancing with Stanley has started to become one of your favorite after school activities. It wasn’t even something that you practiced, but seeing the joy on Stanley’s face as he danced with you was enough. He really likes to dance, but he loves dancing with you: twirling, dipping, swaying...all of that just felt right with you. 

He didn’t ask for it a lot, but over the course of the past four weeks, you’re sure you’ve danced to every record in your collection. Most of the time it was something he’d start, placing a record on and distracting you from your studies. Sometimes he’d even manage to get Ford to dance with the two of you, and sometimes he’d even dance with you, but he’d trip on his feet and decide against it. However, there were days when you knew Stanley was stuck in his own mind, and you’d start a record, asking him to dance. He tends to appreciate the gesture. 

Over the course of the past month, your feelings have increased for him. You knew how he felt, and that first day wasn’t the first time it slipped out. Despite you telling him he didn’t have to ask to give you kisses anymore, he’d still ask if they were on your lips, but he had become comfortable with cheek kisses without the need to confirm if it was okay. 

When you were alone, you swear there were moments where you felt like your body was full of butterflies or bees, or even a mixture of both. He made you feel safe and warm…. You’ve even caught yourself falling in love with him. Are you falling in love or are you already in love? It’s hard to tell...but you know how you feel when he looks at you with his big brown eyes, or how you feel when he presses his lips on yours...or even the way you feel when you fall asleep in his arms. 

It felt right. You love him. 

“Whatcha’ thinking about, sweetheart?” He asks, as he twirls you back into his arms to the music as the next song starts, a soft sweet rhythm. 

“I’m just thinking…” you say, pulling your hands behind his neck as the tempo of the sing decreases “Stanley...do you trust me?” 

He raises a brow and tilts his head to the side “of course” he starts, his gaze softening as he looks at you through the thick lenses of his glasses “I trust you more than anyone actually…” 

“Even more than Stanford…?” you ask quietly

“Well… kinda?” he says awkwardly “it’s..different…” he clears his throat “I trust you with my heart and… well all of me…” he adds, his eyes averting yours. 

“And you’re in love with me...?” you continue. 

“Yeah..yeah I am…” he responds, looking back at you with warm chocolate eyes. He’s had time to think about it, and the longer he’s thought and the more time you spend together, the more he means it. The more he felt it. Throughout the weeks, you’ve never given him a reason to believe that you were untrustworthy, a liar, or out to hurt him. You’ve never made him feel less than a person… like he always had a voice when he was with you, and he didn’t have to hide away. It was hard to believe for him. It was hard to believe that YOU would want him...sometimes he’d push that thought aside as your words and actions proved that you did want him. HIM. The thought itself was incredible to him. Almost unbelievable…

His gaze and smile were enough to get the words out of your mouth “I am too…” 

His soft eyes widened at hearing your words “you… you’re...w-with me?” He sputters, in disbelief. 

Nervous laughter spews from your mouth before you can manage to say it again or even confirm “yeah… I...I’m in love with you, Stanley” you aren’t sure why you’re nervous, but the wide smile that spreads across his face causes those tight nerves to bubble into excitement. 

His smile is so wide that his eyes even close from his cheeks pressing up. He wraps both arms around you and lifts you off the ground. “You have no idea how happy you make me” he says a little too loudly next to your ear, but you can’t help but giggle at his excitement. 

Once he sets you back on the ground, he takes your face between both of his hands, “Can I?” he asks breathlessly. 

“Yes” 

As he pulls your face to his, you tighten your arms around his neck. When his lips press to yours, you can’t help but feel like you’re floating off into the air, only to realize he’s actually lifted you off of the ground, his arms wrapped your waist. Lips separate to taste the other, and heat grows between the two of you. You can feel his excitement through his jeans, but all it does is excite you more. His hands drift down your back and hook under your button, as he picks you up entirely, holding your body firmly against him. He quickly gasps and pulls away “Is this okay? I can stop immediately” he says, his words spewing out quickly and nervously, his glasses falling down his nose. 

“It’s okay, I want this” you answer breathlessly. You do want this, but yeah, you were a little surprised with Stanley’s boldness. He’s always so careful. “Do you?” you ask quietly, pushing the glasses back up with one hand. 

“Yeah, I do… I just… I don’t want… I should’ve… I don’t want to do anything you aren’t comfortable with…” he says stumbling over his words, you can feel his heart pounding hard against your chest. Before you respond, he places you back on the ground “I’m sorry… we...we should get ready for bed it’s getting late…” 

He’s right, it is getting late, you had only started dancing after you finished dinner and your homework. He’s been finding reasons to spend the night here with you, but with how little his father seems to care if he’s at the house or not, it wasn’t a difficult challenge. The only challenge was his guilt of leaving Ford home alone, but Ford didn’t seem to mind too much if he was in his room working on assignments. Sure, working with you was nice, it wasn’t as lonely as working by himself, but he did enjoy the silence every once and awhile. 

“yeah... we should head to bed…”

It doesn’t take long before the two of you crawl under the sheets and doze off to sleep.

~~~

When you wake, the moonlight shines through the window, leaving the room dark besides the small sliver of light. One of your hands rests on his bare chest, while one leg is hiked up on top of him, your knee resting high on his thigh. You’re not sure what woke you, until you feel Stanley’s hand that rested on your back gently pull you into him. Though you aren’t sure if he’s been doing that or you just woke up right now for him to do that once...You shift your knee, and accidentally feel the bulge in his pajama bottoms. 

You ignore it. He’s sleeping. It means nothing. You try to carefully shift your position without waking him, but you aren’t successful. You hear the sharp inhale beside you and a quick startled movement “everythin’ okay?” he asks quickly, his voice groggier than usual. 

“yeah...I’m sorry I didn’t mean to wake you…” you say quietly

He shifts his head up to look at you, but without the light on or his glasses, you don’t look like much “you okay, sweetheart?” he asks softly, his sleepy tone full of concern.

“Yeah I’m fine…” 

“You sure…?” he presses, it’s hard for him to not make assumptions on someone’s tone whent that’s all there is for him to go off of. 

“No-yeah, I’m okay… I just woke up… I’m not sure why…” you say softly, absentmindedly adjusting your knees, pressing it back on the bludge he’s unaware of. Once you realize, you quickly lower your knee, but before you could apologize, he does. 

“Oh geez...I’m sorry...I… can’t really control this thing all the time” he says quietly, a small hint of a tired joke in there. 

“No, I understand, it’s okay…” you answer, gently moving your fingers across his chest hair. 

You both sit in silence long enough, that both of you assume the other had fallen asleep. 

“Stanley…?” you whisper quietly. 

“Yeah?” he answers immediately, defusing your assumption. 

“I uh… I have a question…” you start, your voice wavering. You hear a low hum leave him as he asks for you to continue.  
“How do you feel...about all that… uhm… physical stuff…” 

“What do you mean…?” he whispers back. 

“Like… when we… start to do stuff… you’re hesitant… and I understand if you’re not ready...I don't want to make you feel like you have to…” 

A tired chuckle leaves him before he speaks up “well...I wasn’t ready before, sure...and I’m very grateful that you’ve been...careful? Is that the right word? well..…anyway… lately I….well.. today after you told me… but… I didn’t want to be the one to press for anything…” he pauses and lets out a heavy sigh “I know it doesn’t feel all that great being pressured, so I don’t want to do that to you…” 

“Well… thank you… I appreciate that…” you say quietly. 

“How do you feel about all of it?” he asks, his low voice hardly a whisper. 

“Uh...well I… I trust you Stanley...and I love you… and I know you’d never do anything to me that I don’t like or that’ll hurt me…” you pause, wondering if he’d interrupt, but he lays patiently for you. “So...if you were to want to… I’d be glad to give myself to you…” 

You hear him breathe in heavily, silent together before he speaks up “and if you wanted to… I’d… I’d be honored… you mean a whole fucking lot to me… and… I would stand in front of a bullet for you…” he pauses and reaches a hand up, holding your jawline “and I love you” he says softly, holding your face inches from his, waiting for you. 

xxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

Just as you feel you’re about to slip into sleep, you hear the phone ring, causing both you and Stanley to jump at the sound. 

“Who could be calling at this time?” you ask aloud. 

“Not your parents?” he whispers, like the phone could hear him. 

“No they wouldn’t call at this time…” 

The ringing stops, and you settle your head back on your pillow, but just as Stanley starts to settle too, the ringing starts up again. 

“I can get it…” he whispers.

“You sure..? But what if it IS my parents?” 

“Then I’ll just… lift it to my ear” he says, getting up and out of the bed. You can hear shuffling as he searches the floor for his boxes, a small hum, and him leaving the room told you he found them.

From your room, you can hear the ringing stop, but through the silence in the house you hear Stanley “No-yeah, I’m here, what’s going on?......... slow down there, Sixer. What do you mean?........ Shit, really?......fuck… yeah….okay...alright… I’ll be right over…..mmhmm… okay….. See you…” followed by a click and an exasperated groan. 

When Stanley enters the room, he starts talking quickly “my ma’s in labor, she’s having the baby, Sixer called, saying he needs me to go pick them up to take them to the hospital…” but he pauses “I’m shit… I shouldn’t leave you after all of this….” 

“No...it’s okay Stanley.. I understand…” 

“Okay…” he says, grabbing his pile of clothes off the chair, and walking over to you, pressing a kiss on your cheek “I love you...so much..” 

“I love you too…”

“I’ll pick you up in the morning for school, okay?” he asks, as he makes his way back to the doorway.

“No it’s okay… I’ll walk, I’m sure you’ll be tired..”

“After school then?” he presses “I don’t wanna just..make you walk back and forth…” 

“Yeah...after school is okay” 

“Okay, I’ll see you after school… get some rest…”

“Absolutely” you say, your tired eyes begging to close. “Drive safely, wear your glasses” 

“Of course” he says, before running back in the room to grab his glasses.

“Sweet dreams” 

~~~~

Waking up in the morning was difficult, the soreness of your body catching up to you, but the shower eases them enough. Sleeping in Stanley’s room last night, meant not having to worry about an unkept bed in the morning as you get ready, but it did mean you’ll have to fix it later. 

After school, you’re surprised to see Stanford in the driving seat of the diablo, and completely unconscious.

You tapp on the glass “hey Pal, wakey wakey” 

He bolts upright and looks at you, squinting slightly before he presses his glasses on his face “mornin” you see him say, before he reaches over and unlocks the door next to him. 

You walk around, and lean into the open door “it’s not morning, but okay, good morning” 

He lets out a tired laugh “yeah okay… so... you wanna drive?” 

“What?” 

“See this…?” he says, holding up his left hand to point at his face “this is a reanimated corpse, I’m dead, Stanley’s probably even more so…” 

You laugh and just walk back around the car, opening the door and pushing him over “scooch over then, Frankenstien” 

“Frankenstien was actually the scientist” 

“I know that, Stanford… wouldn’t you rather be the scientist?” you ask with a laugh as you start the car. 

He hums thoughtfully “yeah, okay, then thanks… but I’m sure I’ll never be a mad scientist like him” 

All you can do to that is laugh, before you start driving towards the hospital. Only a few blocks down, and you can hear Stanford quietly snoring. You reach a hand over and remove his glasses, placing them on the dash as you keep driving. 

The drive was quiet, nothing but your thoughts and Ford’s snoring to keep it from being a completely silent drive. You park, turn off the ignition, and sit there silently, rethinking the events of the night… a lot happened. Part of you felt like it wasn’t even real, but an amazing dream…

However, sitting in your thoughts wasn’t going anywhere, so you poke him awake “we’re here” you say, handing over his glasses. 

“ah..yes..I suppose we are…” he mumbles, straightening himself out. “So… ready to meet him?” 

“Sounds nice…” 

As you make your way to the room, Stanford tells you the baby’s name is ‘Shermine Thomas Pines’ and how he and Stanley cleaned up the back seat after his mom’s water broke back there. 

When you walk into the room, the first thing you see is Stanley holding a small baby in his arms as his mom sleeps in the hospital bed. 

“Hey…” he whispers out to you once he sees you, a bright but sleepy smile on his face. “I just got him to go back to sleep” 

“Oh okay…” you whisper back. 

Stanford takes a few steps and sits down on the chair next to Stanley, before resting his chin on his left hand and closing his eyes, probably falling back asleep. 

“Are you tired?” you ask quietly, sitting in the chair on Stanley’s other side. 

“Extremely…” 

“How’s he doing?” you ask, lifting a hand up to touch the soft head of the new baby. 

“Shermie’s good... cried a lot last night but… he’s good” he says quietly. 

“He looks comfy” you say, moving your thumb back and forth on the small chubby cheek. 

“Yeah…” he says, looking up from the baby “hey… I have a question..” 

“Yeah?”

“Do you think I could ever make a good dad one day…?” he asks quietly, moving his gaze back down at his baby brother. 

You look at his face, his brow scrunched with concern and eyes full of love “yeah...I do think you could make a good dad one day” 

A small smile tugs on his face as he looks back up at you “I’m glad… but I’d like to think it’d be with you…”

You return the smile “yeah… me too” 

“I’d marry you in an instant if that’s what you wanted, technically we’re old enough” he says softly.

“I’d love to… but we’d probably have to wait until my parents come back...or at least until they can… okay?” 

“Okay… I’m looking forward to it…” 

His eyes are full of affection as he looks at you, before his gaze moves back down to Shermine. You rest your head down on his shoulder as he cradles his brother. Your eyes grow heavy with every passing second, but soon before you do, you hear Stanley whisper

“I’ll protect you, okay? Our shitty dad will never hurt you, I promise…”


	8. Taking Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're sick, but thankfully, Stanley's there to take care of you :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gross warning, I suppose.  
> -vomit

You thought you’d be enjoying winter break more, but you’ve spent most of it so far, feeling sick. Even the week leading up to it, you’ve been sick. Granted, it’s only a day into it, but you’ve been feeling sick for a week already… 

You tried telling Stanley not to fuss over you, if it was something contagious, you’d hate yourself if you gave it to him. 

Did he listen?

No. 

When you wake up, the fire is already lit, there’s bags full of groceries on the counter, the aroma of boiling soup fills the house, mixing with the smell of burning wood. 

“What are you doing?” you ask quietly, slinking your arms around his torso, and resting your cheek on his back. Absorbing as much warmth as you can from him. It’s been incredibly cold, and the fact that he left bed early this morning, made your bed lose it’s warmth. 

He lets out a chuckle, before he reaches his hand onto your hand resting on his chest “I’m making you some soup” he says, “I think the chicken’s gotta cook a bit longer…” he adds, before placing the spoon on the counter and turning around, wrapping his arms around you. “How’re you feeling so far today?” 

“I’m...okay, still feel sick though…” you say. 

“Yeah…” he says, before pressing a soft kiss to your forehead “well hopefully this’ll help… It's a recipe my ma made when Ford and I got sick…” 

“That sounds nice…” 

“Yeah…” he turns his head and releases one hand to place the lid back on the pot, and dim the stove. “Let’s lay down, how’s that sound?”

“Sounds...really nice-” you’re cut off by him hooking his arm behind your knees and lifting you off the ground. “Wha-”

“You’re sick...so weak and fragile” he says, a grin on his face, but his eyes help affection. 

“I’m not weak or fragile” 

“That’s not what you said the other night when I carried you up the stairs” 

“That’s different… I felt dizzy” 

“I know” he says, kissing your cheek, sitting on the couch, holding you on his lap and pressing you against his chest. 

“God you’re so warm…” you mumble, closing your eyes as you nessle your face into the crook of his neck. 

“Yep”

You’re not sure when it happened, but you fall back asleep, laying there in his arms, only to wake up, bundled in blankets, and Stanley crouched in front of you, gently shaking you awake. “Hey Sweetheart, did that extra bit of sleep help at all?” 

Yeah…” you say, lifting your body up the couch so you can sit. “Thank you” 

“No problem at all…” he says, as he sits down next to you “I just want you to feel better...I’m sorry you’re feeling all bad and icky…” he says softly, his brown eyes looking at you through the scription glass. 

“It’s not your fault…” 

“No, I know..but I wish I could make you feel better…” he says, his tone laced with pain. 

“It’s okay Stanley, I’m sure I’ll be fine, okay?” you say, pressing a kiss into his cheek. 

“okay…” he mumbles, before looking up into your eyes “well, your food is ready up at the table” he says gently, reaching up and brushing his fingers through your hair. “Are you up for it?” 

“Yeah”

“Good” 

The soup was hot and savory, and comforting… if you didn’t see the food scraps on the counter, you wouldn’t have believed Stanley was the one who made it. He’s just so sweet to you, and you are so thankful for him. The whole time you ate his expression makes it obvious that he’s worried about you, it’s not like he’s being subtle about it at all with his actions. 

After eating, you start pulling your still out to work on your project, but Stanley stops you “nope, none of that, you’re too sick, you need to give your body a break, okay?” 

“It’s probably just a bug… I don’t even have a fever or anything”

“Still, if you work yourself too hard today while you’re sick, then maybe tomorrow you won’t feel much better since you’ll be exhausted” 

You stand there, silently blinking at him until you agree, then he convinces you to go lay on the couch with him, and that if you need anything, he’ll get it for you. 

“You’re so sweet, Stanley...y’know I love you?” you say, as you lower your head down onto his lap. 

“I love you too, Sweetheart” he says, a soft smile on his face as his hand comes to brush through your hair, and the other gently rubs circles into your lower back. “Comfy?” 

“Yep” you mumble. 

The positions change from time to time as either you or Stanley get up to switch the channels on the television. You watch shows like the Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, Car 54 where are you?, and even The Lucy show. Hours pass as you lay on the couch, watching shows. You want to at least get some work on your project done, you didn’t want to lay down and do nothing all day, but you body agreed with Stanley. Your body wasn’t up to doing anything, really. 

However, after hours of rest, just as you start to think ‘hey, I’m starting to actually feel better’, you feel hot acid start to build up inside of you. You feel nauseous, like you’ve been resting on the desk of an old ship, swaying in a restless ocean. 

You can help but feel like a volcano as the back of your throat starts to burn, and you quickly sit up and run to the bathroom. 

“What’s happened?” Stanley calls out as he quickly hurries after you into the bathroom. 

As soon as you get in, you quickly fall to your knees and lean over the toilet as lava erupts from your mouth. Without hesitation, Stanley kneels down next to you, holding your hair back and out of your face. 

“no...Stanley, please...get out” you groan out, turning your face so he can’t look at you. 

“If it makes you feel better, I won’t look.” he says firmly, bundling up your hair in his hands as he sits behind you “but I’m not leaving…” 

Before you can retort, the magma building up inside you flows out of your mouth, burning your throat. 

“I think I should drive you to the doctors….” he mumbles behind you.

“No, Stanley...I’m sure it’s fine…” 

“I don’t know, Sweetheart…. You’ve been feeling sick for days already…. And you’ve been throwing up...you told me you have…” 

You groan and look down into the toilet bowl of lava “I guess so… okay…” you agree, reluctantly. 

“Okay… just...let me know when you’re done… and then we’ll go” he says quickly, before kissing the back of your head. 

Despite having your own car, Stanley insists on driving you, said he’d be a real knucklehead if he even thought that letting you drive yourself to the doctors was a good idea. He holds your hand as he drives down the icy roads, only removing it to shift gears. 

Once you walk in you’re greeted by the woman at the front desk, who takes down your name and tells you to go sit down and wait for your name to be called. 

Once seat Stanley looks at you, concern in his eyes “I’ll be fine Stanley, I’m not going to die” 

“You can’t promise that..” he says softly “you know how many people have died from just getting sick like this?...” 

“Stanley...don’t worry too much...please?” you say, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. 

Soon you’re called by the doctor, leaving Stanley to wait in the front, while you make your way further into the clinic. The whole place smells like cleaning supplies, occasionally mixed in with the scent of old rubber and heated metal, probably from the hot hair circulated through the building from the furnace. 

Once you are in the room, the nurse asks you to sit and introduces herself “I’m Laura Dunn, I’ll be the nurse assisting you today, what seems to be the problem?” she asks, pulling out a clipboard covered in papers, and adjusting a pen in her hand.

“Well… I’ve been feeling sick for ah… about a week and a half? I’ve just been feeling nauseous.” 

“Having trouble keeping food down?” 

“Yeah..” you say, your hands fidgeting in your lap. 

“Have you been outside the country in the last month?” she asks. 

“No” 

“Eaten any food that may not have been prepared properly?” 

“Not that I know of?” 

She continues to go on, asking various dietary questions, wondering if it’s some sort of Food poisoning or parasite. 

“Have you been sexually active?” 

“Uh…” you start, suddenly feeling awkward “yes..” 

“Are you practicing safe sex?”

“Yes…” 

“When was your last cycle?” 

“Uh… I can’t really remember..” you know that you should know, but you’ve been so busy with your projects and classwork, that you haven’t even thought about it. 

A few more questions follow, along with reviewing your medical history that was already in the clinic’s records. You didn’t like feeling like you were just sitting there silently as she wrote stuff down, but the awkward air had already settled over the room, and there’s nothing you could muster the nerve to say. Small talk with your nurse didn’t sound the most appealing either. 

“Okay, so we’re going to run a few tests today, so I’m going to have to collect blood and urine samples, does that sound okay to you?” 

“Y-yeah” 

“Okay” 

She leaves you alone in the room while she gets everything needed to collect everything from you. Once she returns, you sit still as she removes your blood, the pain stings, but it’s unbearable. When you were younger, the thought of getting blood removed or even getting a shot, but the older you got the less it scared you. Because when you’re older, you realize there are things far scarier than needles. The urine test was last, taking about a minute, then they let you go.  
“We’ll call you in seven to twelve days to inform you of your results”

“Thank you…” 

Once you walk back out of the room, you can see Stanley going through the newspaper, his finger pressed on the side of his glasses frame, leaving them slightly crooked. You actually manage to sneak up on him without him noticing “whatcha reading there?” 

The newspaper is quickly pulled down onto his lap and he looks at you with a startled expression, before it melts into relief. “What’d the doc say?”

“Well they said they’ll run some tests and call me in a week or two to tell me what’s wrong” 

“That’s a long time...they didn’t think it was anything serious?” he asks, folding the paper back up, and placing it down next to him. 

“It doesn’t seem like it to them, but they’d let me know if it was bad” 

“That’s good”

~~~~~

The days pass with no call, your symptoms become more manageable at times, giving you more time to work on your science fair project. Even you, Stanley and Stanford sat in the backyard, building a snowman… Well, snowmen… snow people? It started with one, but with the amount of snow covering the ground, the two of you managed to make seven different snow people. 

It’s been quiet, you have your outfit together for hanukkah dinner tomorrow, and everything ready, at least mentally. It took a lot of convincing on Stanley’s part, but you’re actually going to their hanukkah dinner, though it’s obvious that his father isn’t very happy about you going. He can choke on a block of coal for all you care. 

“What do you want for lunch?” Stanley asks as he looks through the fridge “anything sounding good to you?”

“Uh” you start, but you’re interrupted by the telephone ringing. “Hold on” you say, before getting up, and making your way over. 

“Hello?” 

The person on the line, asks to speak with someone with your name. 

“That’s me, is there anything I can help you with?” 

“It’s Laura Dunn from East Bay Clinic, we have your tests results ready for you”

“Okay” 

As you listen, Stanley peeks out of the kitchen, giving you a curious look mouthing ‘who is it?’, but you raise a hand to him, silently telling him to wait. 

“y-yeah… thank you… you too.” you mumble, before placing the telephone back down onto the switch hook to end the call. 

“So…” Stanley starts quietly as he approaches you, trying to gage where you’re at by your expression, but it’s hard to read “what’re the results?” 

“St-Stanley I…” you say, feeling a sting in your chest, and tears start to well in your eyes. The feeling of panic overwhelms you, you’re not really sure what to do. 

“Woah woah… what’s wrong? What’d they say?” he says, quickly pulling you into an embrace, he looks down at you, his brows scrunched together as he looks at you, worry taking over his expression. 

“I… they said that… uhm...I’m… I’m pregnant” you choke the words out, as your heart races hard in your chest. 

His eyes widen and his brows raise up his forehead as he looks at you in complete shock.

“what”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe he should have turned the light on and inspected the 3 month old condom he had in his wallet, huh?


	9. Love and Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with big news isn't an easy task...

“W-what what do you mean? B-but we...we...right?” 

His eyes are wide as he looks at you, and his heart pounding so hard in his chest, you can feel it thumbing against your own. 

Your own heart slamming down like a bass drum, pounding hard in your chest as the tempo grows faster and faster. Your thoughts are like an orchestra, yet every section is playing a different song and not a single player is on rhythm. It doesn’t make sense. 

You can’t stop the hot tears falling down your cheek, and that bass in your chest turns into a stare, with every hit of the drum is sharp and sends flashes through your nerves. Soon your knees give out and you fall towards the floor, but Stanley’s hold on you being the only thing preventing you from actually collapsing. However, he still joins you and you both sit on the floor, and he pulls you onto his lap. 

“It’ll be okay,Sweetheart.… we-we can figure this out, okay?” he says, trying to pull your thoughts together. 

Once you stop crying you speak up “I don’t know what to do… what about college...I’ll have to give it up…” you mumble, mostly to yourself. 

“Don’t say that, okay? You’re strong, and smart, and fully capable of becoming some kind of...doctor with robot assistants…and... I love you, I can watch em while you go to school...a-and I’ll get a job…” though those thoughts raised another concern “if anyone would hire me….” he mumbles, hoping you won’t hear. It’s not like the shop owners in town like him all too much, he does have a reputation, after all… 

“I can’t ask you to do that...I could...cut my classes in half...maybe it’ll take longer but...I don’t want to saddle you with everything…” 

“Well I can’t ask you to cut them in half either…Listen I…” he pauses, his hand moved down to rest on your abdomen, but it hovers just above it. “I love you…” he says, finally placing his hand down. “I don’t have a lot going for me...but you...You do...and I want to support you…” 

Your eyes move down to his hand resting on your belly, and the tears come back. Not from anxiety, fear, or dread… but from the realization that… You’re pregnant. You’re going to be a mother and Stanley… he’ll be by your side. He’ll be a father and... you know him well enough to know that he’ll make one hell of a dad. He loves you, he truly... fully loves you, and you know he won’t hesitate to love his child with his whole heart. 

The rest of the day, the two of you talked about your plans, how you hope things will go when you tell your families… 

It’s obvious he’s terrified.

You are too. 

But at least you have each other.

~~~~~~~~~

“Y’know...maybe we shouldn’t go…” he says hesitantly as he rubs circles on your back as you throw up into the toilet. You were about to hop into the shower to get ready for his family’s Hanukkah celebration, but the burning in the back of your throat was too much. 

“No… you fought hard for me to go… and your mom wanted me to come… I promised her I would…” you say, wiping your face off with a wipe and throwing it in the trash bin. 

“No, I know that...I’m just… nervous… I don’t have to tell her today… do I?” 

“No… maybe today we can just… lie...and act like nothings changed…at least for now… I was reading this medical book my parent’s got me a while back to prep me for college and… from what the doctor said..I’m only like...a month and a half or so....so...probably from our first time…” you say before pausing “Which means that...I’m still susceptible to miscarriages…” you mumble quietly. His brows raise at your words, but before he can respond, you continue “and...the cut off for that is about twelve weeks…..at least the risk is less... statistically speaking... so… we can wait till I’m twelve weeks to tell our parents?” 

“Yeah we can do that…” he says, moving his hands from your back to your belly as he wraps himself around you “but just so you know...I really...don’t want you to lose the baby…” he mumbles into your back, his words vibrating against you. 

“I’m sure we won’t” you say, leaning your head back to brush your cheek against his “everything will work out… I’ll go to school… you’ll get a job...we find a place of our own… we have this baby...I’ll become a doctor… easy peasy, lemon squeezy….” 

“So… it’ll be easy like...soap?” he asks, a small chuckle escaping him, hoping to lighten the mood.

“It’s fun to say, what’re you gonna do, sue me?” 

“Yep” he says, pressing a kiss to the back of your head “so...you ready to shower now...?” he asks quietly, trying to be polite about your whole...vomit fest.

“Yeah...thanks Stanley…” 

~~~~~~~

After hopping out of the shower together, you get dressed in your room. Stanley brought over this whole fancy ensemble to wear to Hanukkah, and you have a nice dress you had bought for just this occasion. 

Stanley helps you zip up the back and when you turn around he smiles brightly “You look like a million bucks, you know that?” 

“I don’t feel like it but...thank you” you say softly. 

“I mean it, okay?” he says, pulling you into an embrace, and placing a hand on your cheek. Despite everything, he still waits for you to say yes, or nod, before even kissing your lips. 

You smile, looking into his deep brown eyes through the thick treated glass, and nod softly. He pulls you in, pressing his lips onto yours with a sigh. His thumb brushes back and forth on your cheek as the kiss goes on. It’s sweet and tender...and… it fills your heart with pop rocks. 

The kiss ends and he looks at you, eyes full of affection “I love you” he says quietly. 

“I love you too, Stanley…” 

“I’m glad” he says before looking down at his unbuttoned shirt, a plain white shirt covering his torso. His fingers are careful as he slides each button in each hole, but you can notice a small tremble in his movements as goes through the motions. “There’s no reason for anyone to...suspect anything is there?” he asks quietly, his eyes still on his buttons. 

“I don’t think so..” you say, moving your hands up to help him get the last of the buttons done. “There shouldn’t be at least, unless you act weird around Ford, he’ll definitely suspect something is off”

“Yeah… he probably would…” Stanley says, moving his hands out of the way to let you finish the button on his collar “I got to at least tell him…” 

“Sounds like a plan…” you say, placing both hands on his cheeks, giving them a small squish, and then pulling your hands away. “Oh!” 

“Oh what?” 

You move over to the other side of the room and pull out two small boxes “here” you say, handing him a box. 

He raises a brow, but opens the box to reveal a plain black pair of gloves “these are what I was knitting the other day” 

“Ah… and I’m assuming the other one is..?” 

“For Stanford, yeah, with six fingers” you beam proudly. 

His smile widens, pushing his cheeks up to his eyes “You’re amazing… I don’t know what I ever did to deserve such a fantastic person in my life” 

“well … maybe it helps that you’re fantastic too…” you say, placing your hand in his “and that you aren’t as bad as you think you are…” 

His smile drops, and he looks at you, almost confused “I… I don’t know…” you see his eyes shift down to your belly, where his child was forming inside of you “I… I’m probably not that great…” 

“You are, Stanley” you say soft, taking his hand, and placing it on your abdomen “and you'll be the kid’s hero… okay?” 

His smile returns, but softer “of course” 

~~~~

The drive was long, but thankfully there weren't any winding roads that made you sick. 

Festivities were taking place at his grandmother’s house, which is in Shoreline, a city over. Her house is a nice little cottage style home with a stone wall surrounding the front yard. All you can see is a frozen fountain in the yard, icey streams of water, frozen in place. Though, Stanley tells you that flowers and vegetables grow in it normally. 

“When me and Ford were little kids, we would play with the little roley poley guys who’d crawl all over the place” he tells you “but uh..I’m not really sure what happens to them in the winter…” 

“I’m sure they dig a hole or something” you say with a shrug, holding on to Stanley to keep yourself warm. “Can we just get inside” 

“Yep” 

When you walk into the house, you are overwhelmed with everything. The sounds of the guests, the smell of the burning wood and the assortment of foods, the heat from the fire that blows past the cold air outside. Despite your stomach being empty, the smells and everything together is almost too much. The two of you quickly remove your extra layers, shoving your gloves in the pockets before hanging your coats on the rack, draping your scarves on top of them. 

You can see Stanford up ahead, he had a sleeping Shermmie in his arm, and slightly resting on his lap, while his hand held a book while he read a novel. His attire is close to Stanley’s but his shoes look lustrous and he had a cap on towards the back of his head. It was odd seeing him with his hair gelled back, he almost looks like Stanley, which… is a silly thought. They’re identical twins after all. 

You wave over at him, and his eyes peek over the book to see both you and his twin.

“You guys finally made it” he says as he approaches you, his expression relieved.

“Yeah, sorry… it’s just…” his words trailed off as his gaze fell to you. 

“I got carried away going over stuff for my project...kinda lost track of time, my apologies” you say. You feel bad lying to Ford like this, you know you and Stanley want to tell him, but that being the first thing you tell him sounded wrong.

“Don’t worry about it, just worried for your safety is all..” 

“OH! Stanford!” 

“Yes?” 

You take a few steps back to your coat and pull out the box “Happy Hanukkah” 

“Oh? Well thank you” he says, handing the sleeping Shermmie to Stanley before opening, but as he opens it, you see his brow raise curiously. He pulls out one glove and squints at the fingers, before his brows raise in surprise “it has...six fingers… but how did you...where did you..?” 

“She made ‘em herself” Stanley pipes in proudly. 

“You did?” he asks, a smile tugging on his lips. 

“Yeah” you say, smiling proudly, but the air is knocked out of you as Ford quickly pulls you into a tight hug. Stanley’s eyes widen, but all you can do is laugh and hug him back “your welcome?” 

Ford removes himself just as quickly as he attached himself “it’s such a thoughtful gift, and the craftsmanship is just outstanding..thank you so much” 

“Of course Stanford” you say with a smile. You see that Stanley’s expression relaxed. You doubt it was jealousy, it looked more concerned… maybe it was just because Ford sprang the hug on you unexpectedly. Though his concern was gone once you laughed, so… yeah, that’d make sense. “I’m happy you like it” 

“I love it, thank you” he says again, the smile on his face prominent. 

“Your welcome” 

“So, Sixer, what did we miss?” 

“Uhm… well… Dinner is almost ready I believe…” he says, his gaze moving over to the table. There were bowls full of soup, and serving dishes full of food. “I just think there’s a few things left… but… you should go greet ma though, she’s been asking about you since...it’s snowing and you were late…” 

“Yeah.. okay” he says, his words trailing off as he looks at his baby brother in his arms. “Babies sure are fragile, huh?”

“Yeaah… are you alright Stanley?” 

“Yep” he says, brushing off the expression on his face and showing off a wide smile to his brother “better than ever, I’m just making an…” he pauses a second as he thinks of the word “observation”. 

Stanford’s eyes squint as he looks between the two of you “riiight… well Ma’s in the kitchen” he says, his eyes still squinted as he tries to figure out the unasked question. He knows his brother, and he knows that comment felt off. 

You and Stanley make your way to the kitchen, his baby brother still in his arms. You pass his father on the way over there, he was getting his ear talked off by another guest. “What if I fuck things up…” Stanley asks quietly. 

His mind hasn’t stopped screaming since he found out yesterday. He’s worried, he’s scared, he’s excited, he’s apprehensive… he was excited to be a father…but he was scared… his whole life his father has made him feel like he’ll never be good at anything, that he’s a failure, a screw up… so how would he be as a father? Would he be awful at it… would he make the child miserable…. What if he can’t do this… what if no one hire him and he can’t support you two while you finish up college?… What if your parents hate him? What if they make you break up with him and give the baby up for adoption? What if he loses you… he loves you so much. More than he can put into words. He already loves this child, and he’s only known about them for a day. He wants you to be happy… he’s just scared… 

“You won’t” 

“But-” 

“No Stanley… you’ll do great… your dad is an awful person and whatever he has said to you is wrong” You say, your tone is almost serious, but it is full of reassurance. “And-” 

“You’re here!” Caryn’s voice interrupts “I was so worried about you two, have you been here long?” 

“Not too long, Ma” he says, offering her a small smile “need help with anything?” 

“No actually, we’re just about to get ready to light the first candle though, where’s your kippah, your cap?” 

“Uh...it’s in my coat” He looks down at Shermie sleeping in his arms “can you hold him for a second?” 

“Sure” you say, and he carefully places his little brother into your arms, and then runs out of the room. 

“So how are you doing, Sweetie?” Mrs. Pines asks, removing an apron from around her waist “Stanley said you’ve been feeling sick?”

“I’m doing much better, thank you for asking” you say, offering her a smile. 

“That’s good..” she turns around and calls out “hey Ma, I want you to meet Stanley’s little lady” before going back into the kitchen to finish cleaning off the counter.

The older woman in the kitchen turns around, offering you a bright smile “It’s so nice to meet you, you must be Carla” she says sweetly. 

Ouch. 

You couldn’t help the grimace that spread across your face. 

“No uhm...actually..” you start before correcting her, politely telling her your name. 

“Oh I’m so sorry, it’s hard to keep track of things sometimes, I did hear that they were together for a very long time after all” 

“Yep” you push out shortly. You can’t help the sting in your chest. It’s not that you were jealous, but you know Carla isn’t the nicest person… “nonetheless, it’s nice to meet you” 

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she says, offering you a soft smile. Behind her, Mrs. Pines comes back, and smiles at the two of you. 

“Well, we should get Stanley, and get that candle lit, how does that sound?” 

“Sounds good” you say, smiling at her before turning around, but as soon as your back is turned your smile falls. It’s not that you’re not happy to meet her and talk with his mom… it’s just a lot. Your gaze moves down to the small baby in your arms. He’s so small, and so peaceful… you wonder how different it’ll feel… holding your own child in your arms rather than Stanley’s brother. You wonder if they’ll look like Stanley...or Ford..or Sherman. You wonder if they’ll have six fingers like Stanford… if he’ll be happy. You know you and Stanley would love them, and wouldn’t starve them of that love like his father has. 

“You doing okay, Babe?” you hear Stanley’s voice call out, pulling your eyes away from the baby. 

“Y-yeah I’m good, just… just stuck in thought..I’m sorry” 

“No it’s okay… just… let me know if you wanna share those thoughts, okay?” he asks quietly, placing a hand on the small of your back, leading you towards the menorah. “We got this..okay?” he says quietly, his rough voice rumbling in your ear. 

“Thanks…” 

“Want me to take him?” he asks as you reach the group where you see his mom getting everything ready. 

“No, it’s okay...I should start getting used to holding a baby after all” you say with a small laugh. 

“Why's that?” you hear Stanford’s voice ask from behind you. 

You spin around and look at Stanford’s confused, yet serious expression “uh.. Because…My neighbor just got a job, and asked me to watch their baby” you lie. 

“Okay…” he can tell you’re lying, but he isn’t sure what you’re hiding. 

You look back ahead to see their mom pull the lit candle from the middle holder, which stands taller than the rest and light the candle furthest to the left before placing the other back down in the middle. Soon the crowd sang around you. 

~”Ma-oz Tzur Y’shu-a-ti ~ Le-cha Na-eh L’sha-bei-ach”~

~”Ti-kon Beit T’fi-la-ti ~ V’sham To-da N’za-bei-ach”~

~”L’eit Ta-chin Mat-bei-ach ~ Mi-tzar Ha-mi-na-bei-ach”~

~”Az Eg-mor B’shir Miz-mor ~ Cha-nu-kat Ha-miz-bei-ach”~

You can hear Stanford quietly singing on your side, but Stanley’s mouth stayed shut. His eyes were on you and the baby in your arms. His right hand had come up and rested over his mouth, his thumb stretched out across his jaw. His eyes held concern, worry, affection… it was a storm of different emotions. 

~~~~~

You didn’t eat too much during dinner, your acid reflux was already bad enough without a full stomach, and you didn’t want to throw up in the car on the way home. 

The drive was quiet, and with Stanford in the back seat, you couldn’t ignore that gnawing in your mind to just tell him. You kept looking at Stanley, hoping he’d say something but it never came. The words never left his mouth. 

Even pulling up in front of your house. 

Walking inside. 

You can’t take it much longer, you hated lying to him. As soon as everyone is inside, and Stanley rushes to the fireplace to set it on your hand never leaves the door knob.  
You let out a heavy sigh and your forehead leans against the door.

“Hey.. are you okay?” he asks gently, placing a hand on your shoulder. 

“I’m pregnant, Stanford” you blurt out bluntly.

Then suddenly the only sound in the whole house was the subtle crackles of wood that just started to burn.

“What?” Ford asks after a few moments his voice gentle and concerned, but then he turns around and looks at his brother “WHAT DID YOU DO?”

Stanley’s eyes widened at his brother’s anger “I-I didn’t do anything” 

“If you didn’t do anything, she wouldn’t be pregnant, she had a bright future ahead of her! You wanna just make her some house wife?” Stanford asks, storming towards his brother, throwing his coat to the couch. “She’s too smart for that!” 

“It's not like that Ford-” 

“You said you were careful, that you’d be safe and smart about your decisions, how could you do this to her?” he shouts, his hand gesturing to you, while the other palms his face. 

“Stanford…” you say quietly, and he turns around, his hand sliding off of his face. “We were safe… we don’t know how it happened...It must have just been that 0.1% risk… don’t be mad at him…”

“But your future...your education…” 

“I’m still going to school… I’ll still get my Doctorate…” you say quietly, stepping closer to Ford. 

“And I’ll watch the kid while she’s in class…” 

Stanford’s eyes move between you and Stanley before he sits down on the couch, his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands “I’m sorry…” 

“No… I get it…” Stanley says, sitting on the couch next to his brother. You join them, sitting on Ford’s opposite site. 

“I just...sorry I got mad...or at least...didn’t handle it… calmly...I’m sure you two are already dealing with enough in your own heads…” Ford continues, his words quiet as he talks straight down. 

The three of you sit silently. The wood crackles and the wind howls against the windows as the snow piles up on your lawn. 

“You two… you think you can handle everything?” Ford finally asks after minutes of silence.

“Yeah…” you say quietly, placing a hand on his back. 

“We can…” Stanley adds on, offering you a small smile over Ford’s slouched back. 

Stanford lets out a long sigh “Good…I’m really happy for you”

He lies.


	10. Mazel Tov

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's a sweet sappy chapter.

“Good, you’re awake, so I got good news and bad news, what do you want to hear first?” 

You look up at Stanley, your vision blurry from just waking up “can… can it wait… it’s too early for this…” you mumble out. 

“Actually, Sweetheart, it’s… uh…” he glanced over at the clock in your room “it’s one fifteen” 

“In the afternoon…?” 

“Yep” 

“Oh…” you had woken up around five in the morning and threw up for some time, Stanley was by your side the entire time; however, looking back at your night, you don’t think he ever went back to sleep. Though, you should have guessed, he’s already dressed and ready for the day in...formal dress wear… it looks like his Hanukkah suit, except the coat wasn’t on and his sleeves were rolled up. “Wait, shit, don’t we have school today?”

“Technically, but it is Friday, so.. It should be fine, I did go take Ford to school this morning, and he delivered your sick note to the office...and my ma called to say I was sick…” he trails off, then restates “anyways… which do you want? The good news or the bad news?”

“Then uh… whichever, I guess” 

“Okay” he says, taking a deep breath before all the words come spewing out of him “the good news is, your parents seem to like me, just got off the phone with them, well… I’ve really been talking to them all morning, first it was right after you fell asleep, then they had a wonderful phone call with my ma at around nine or something...then back here again…anyway, they said, it’s okay if we were to go and have a courthouse wedding” 

“What?” you ask, all of this new information waking you up. 

“OH! I knew I forgot something” he says before dropping down on one knee next to the head of the bed “I love you SO fucking much, like...I’m not really great at my words but... you make me feel like a million bajillion bucks, and you make me feel all warm and happy and...and I know I’ll love you and this kid, or kids, I mean, we never know, for the rest of my life” he pulls out a dull gold band from his pocket “Will you marry me?” 

You lay silently, blinking at him. “Well... of course, Stanley. I love you more than you can imagine” he stands up from the floor and sits next to you on the bed, sliding the ring on your finger. The feelings were coming to you slowly, but this felt right, marrying him. Besides, would you really have time for a big ceremony when you’re extremely pregnant, or have an infant?

“How does three sound then?” he asks, smiling brightly at you. 

“You mean today?” 

“Yes, your parents said it was okay” 

“Oh uhm…. Okay… but wait… what’s the bad news?” 

He takes your freshly ringed hand in his and rubs his thumbs on the backs of your hand “well uh… I had to tell them you were pregnant, for them to get the idea why… why I thought the wedding happening sooner would be better than later…” 

“Were they upset?” you ask, panic taking over the bliss. 

He gives your hand a small squeeze, before lifting his hand up to rub at his eyes under his glasses “uh… yeah a bit… but uh… they said they can come back early, and that they’ll be back a around the baby’s due date, try to be there for you when that day comes” 

“Oh…” of course they’d come back for their first grandchild, but they wouldn’t come back for you. 

Stanley notices a shift in your expression and decided to add “They seemed happy that we were getting married though… that they were happy that you were happy” 

“Yeah… that sounds like something they’d say” you mumble. 

“Don’t stress too much about it… today is a good day, we’re going to get married in a few hours” He says brightly, lifting his hand to hold your cheek. “And… sure, this isn’t how I pictured this all going down… but… I’m happy you said yes” his smile is contagious. 

“Oh Stanley” you say sweetly, finally sitting up and cupping his freshly shaven cheek “of course… if we only have what… two..ish… hours...I should get ready” 

“Yes, right…” he says, his eyes flickering to your lips, so you give him a small smile and lean in, pressing your lips firmly against his. 

You’ve come up with a code together, it was so subtle that you were sure no one else would figure it out, but you knew. He had told you how his ex Carla would try to pressure him into things he didn’t want, even worse, he told you that he didn’t remember his first time with Carla at all, but he remembered her insisting that he drank more, while she drank nothing....then waking up in bed with her. He told you how controlling she could be, and at times he felt like he wasn’t himself anymore. How he told you that he never wanted to make you feel powerless, and with all of this, you assured him you felt the same. 

You dug through your closet to find your mom’s wedding dress, the sleeves were long and lacy, and there was a short lacy fabric layer that started at your waistline. The collar went down in a V shape, and your skirt was long… it’ll most likely drag on the floor. 

As soon as you’re out of the shower, and you’re dry enough, you fix up your hair, making sure it’s up and out of your face. There was this elegant, floral silver, eight pronged hair comb that your mom kept safe for you to wear on your big day. The flowers looked so delicate, but they were sturdy. You carefully stick it into the side of your hair.... 

Spoon you touch up your face with some makeup, and then pause and take a look at yourself.

“Wow…” you mumble to yourself “I’m getting married today…” the thought practically brings you to tears, but not enough that you sob and ruin all the makeup. You never really imagined your wedding day like this, eleven weeks pregnant, and still in high school… but… you can’t really imagine this with anyone else. After everything that has happened between you and Stanley, you can’t imagine a future without him. He’s silly, sweet, and he treats you right. That’s not even taking into consideration how he makes you feel… he makes you feel happy, silly, he fills your chest with buzzing bees and he makes your body feel heavenly… 

Walking out of the bathroom, you aren’t sure what he’s doing downstairs, but there’s a lot of noise that he’s trying to muffle with music. “Everything okay down there?” 

“YEP, c-couldn’t be better babyy- b-butter biscuit” he calls out above the music, his tone nervous.

“What? Baby butter biscuit? You sure you’re okay?”

He hesitates to respond but still says “uhhhh…. nervous”, his voice sounding closer to the base of the stairs. “I love you”

“I love you too” 

“Are you… almost ready?” 

You take a second to look at yourself “almost… I just have to get dressed now….” 

“Okay”

You leave the bathroom, enter your room, and carefully pull on the dress, and when you see yourself… it’s hard to hold back the tears. Your parents told you that they wanted to be there for you during all the big events… Why would they miss this? It is sudden, from how Stanley is acting, it seems he just started planning this morning. 

Everything is happening so fast…

Once dressed, you grab your coat, and a shawl that you throw over your head, covering your head, leaving your face visible. You hike up your skirt and take one last look in the mirror, taking in a sharp breath “Let’s do this.” 

You’re bundled up enough that Stanley was only about to see the bottom of the dress. The drive is shorter than you thought, and you’re slightly confused when you see Stanley driving to a synagogue instead of the courthouse. 

“Uh… my ma called while you were in the shower….” he starts, hesitantly “said if I don’t get married by a Rabbi, I’m going to hell” 

“Right… but the premarital sex isn’t sending us -” you say, giving him a thumbs down, sticking your tongue out. 

He let out a chuckle “nah, she said that isn’t a big deal… at least to her. I mean, why do you think she married my dad?” he asks jokingly, before pulling into the parking spot. Once the car was off, he let out a deep breath “Sweetheart, Will you marry me?” he questions for the second time that day, holding your ringed left hand between his. 

“Yes?” you question, your eyes glancing over to the large building in front of the car. 

“I know I sprang this on you suddenly… I just want to make sure this is something you want” 

You lift your right hand to hold his cheek “oh Stanley… I love you so much, and I’m not going to change my mind, regardless of what your mind may say sometimes… okay?” you say sweetly. 

He hummed softly “okay… so… are you ready to do this?” 

“More than anything” 

The two of you walk out of the car, and are quickly met with Caryn Pines. Her thick hair up in a high bun, and wearing a long black gown, covered in a forest green overcoat. 

“Oh dears, you both look so wonderful!” she cries out enthusiastically, but she quickly moves past Stanley and takes a hold of both of your hands “and you sweetie, how are you feeling with everything?” she asks, her eyes moving over your body, resting on your belly for just a moment. 

“I feel great” you say, your cheeks rosy, as the nerves start to hit you along with the icy air. “M-maybe a bit nervous” you admit. 

“Oh I bet, I was too on my big day, but luckily you got a wonderful guy like my Stanley by your side for it” she says sweetly before turning her head “baby, get inside, Stanford is in there straightening the place outi, but we’re just going to freshen up” she says, shooting him a wink. 

“Yeah okay, Ma” he says, shooting you a curious look before heading inside. 

Once he’s inside she turns back to you “okay, let’s take you to get ready!” she says before pulling you into the building and into a small room. She soon starts helping you remove your overcoat and smiles brightly once your dress is revealed “oh wow, you look beautiful, sweetie… but you are missing one thing” she says, turning around and pulling a veil off of the table, and carefully placing it on your head. “There….” she states in awe. 

You look at yourself in the mirror as she stands behind you “wow…” was all you could say as you look at yourself. 

“I wore this veil for my wedding” she says softly, straightening out your attire “and my ma wore it for hers…” when you turn around she offers you a bright smile “I’m happy my Stanley found you, you make him so happy,and he’s even given up smoking” she says enthusiastically “which is fantastic, I’m trying to, but the little one kinda made me really want to stop” 

“Oh… well thank you” 

“Of course, you’re family,” she says sweetly. 

Maybe it’s the hormones, or maybe it’s everything hitting you, but you can’t stop the tears that accumulate in your eyes. You’ve spent so much time alone, that you had gotten used to feeling alone… no parents, no family. Yet this? You’re about to join a new family, the Pines family, and despite hating Filbrick with a passion, everyone else seemed great. 

Over the last few months, you didn’t just gain Stanley as a boyfriend, but as a best friend. Even Stanford has become one of your closest friends. 

Everything is just too much… but in all the right ways. 

“oh, Sweetie, don’t cry, you’ll mess up your makeup” Caryn says in a sweet hushed tone, dabbing your face with a handkerchief. 

“Thank you” you mumble back, choking out the words. You turn to look at yourself in the mirror, making sure to have cleaned off all the runs of makeup from under your eyes. 

There’s faint knocking on the door, pulling you out of your thoughts. Caryn walks to the door and peeks out, soon turning around “it’s Stanford, is it alright to let him in? 

“Sure”

“I’m going to go check on the rabbi, do you think you’ll be ready soon?”

“Yeah, I think so” you say softly, smiling to her, before smiling to your reflection. 

She soon leaves the room, and her presence is replaced by Stanford’s. He stands quietly, holding papers over his face to block his eyes. 

“What’re you doing?” 

“I can’t see you before the wedding, it's bad luck” he answers hesitantly. 

“You do know that only applies to Stanley, right?” 

“Oh right…” he mumbles, he lowers the papers, and looks at you, his eyes go wide, and his cheeks turn pink. “Oh wow… you look.. You look beautiful”

You smile brightly to him “well thank you Stanford, and might I add, you’re looking quite dapper yourself” 

A confused smile spreads across his face, before looking down at his attire “oh! Right.” he says with a small chuckle. He, too, is wearing his suit from hanukkah, kippah and all, with only a small twig with flowers sticking out of his coat pocket. “My attire is hardly comparable, but thank you” 

“Anytime” you say, smiling softly at him, but the smile slides down. “hey...Ford, I have a question…”

“Yes?” he asks, quirking a brow at you. Part of him wonders if you’re changing your mind, not because that’s what he wants, but because moments before he came in Stanley was just crying about how much he loves you. He loves his brother, Stanley’s his best friend after all.

“Would you...walk with me… out there…?” you ask, your voice shaking as your nerves set in. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Just… your mom went out there with Stanley… and I… I don’t want to walk out alone…” 

“Right…” he mumbles in understanding. The two of you had a conversation towards the end of break, regarding your parents and how you felt like you were so alone before you met them. “Well then… Shall we?” he asks, offering his elbow for you to hook onto his arm. There’s a sweet smile on his face that you can’t help but reciprocate. 

“Thanks Ford,” you say as you take hold of his arm, and both of you make your way to the others. 

You don’t expect the song to play or anything like that, it’s a small room, with only three people in it… five now as you enter it. Stanley’s turned away as you enter, you can see the cap on his head, and a small flower sticking out of his coat pocket. A small tap on his shoulder from his mother alerts him of your arrival. 

“Holy moses…” Stanley chokes out as he sees you, fogging his glasses, followed by several strained sounds from his throat as he tries not to cry. His smile is brighter than the sun at noon, and all you can do is the same. Even from your peripheral vision you can see Ford and Caryn Pines smiling. 

When you meet up with him, Stanley moves shaky hands up and covers your face with the veil. Mouthing the words ‘I love you’ before the Rabbi guides the four of you to a table, where you and Stanley sign a ketubah. 

Soon enough, the wedding begins. You aren’t paying much attention to the Rabbi as he talks. Even if you tried, your heart is pounding so hard that it’s all you can hear in your ears. 

Stanley’s holding your hands tightly as the two of you make promises to each other, that you have no intention of ever breaking. He promises to love and cherish you, to protect you from harm, and to always make you laugh when you feel ‘glum’. After the two of you stop and the Rabbi continues, the hard pounding of your heart returns.

You hear Stanley’s harsh voice come through the pounding as he says “I do” 

With your attention back in the room the Rabbi turns to you “ and do you take Stanley Romanoff Pines to be your husband?” 

“I do” 

And soon enough Stanley’s sliding a ring onto your finger, the ring holds a soft pink and green gemstone inside. You discover a gold band in your hand, where it came from? You aren’t entirely sure… he probably placed it in your palm moments ago. You slide the ring onto his finger and you both give each other a small squeeze. 

The Rabbi brings out a wine glass and carefully covers it with a handkerchief “may the bond of your love and friendship be as difficult to break, as it would to attempt to put the pieces of the glass back together”, which is promptly broken under Stanley's shoe.

“Mazel tov!” the group shouts together. 

“And now, with the power vested in me...I now pronounce you Man and Wife, you may kiss the bride” 

Stanley doesn’t even hesitate, especially with the look you’re giving him; he lifts the veil, and he pulls you in, pressing his lips softly on yours for a gentle kiss.

“I’d now like to introduce you Mr. and Mrs. Pines” 

~~~~~~

You don’t even try to change out of your wedding dress as the four of you meet up at the diner to eat dinner… and you especially don’t remove it once you’re home. 

You couldn’t help but laugh as Stanley carried you bridal style though the doorway of your house. Nonetheless, the first thing you do is remove your shoes and let down your hair, and sit on the couch surrounded by your large skirt. 

“Y’know… I haven’t spent a lot of alone time with my bride.” he says, sweetly, placing a record on the play. “It breaks my heart, Mrs. Pines” he says jokingly as he comes to you, reaching a hand out to you, shining a smile at you. 

You take his hand, “my apologies, Mr. Pines.” you respond, and he lifts you to your feet, pulling you to the center of the room before hoping to the record to start the song. He reaches you and pulls you against him as the song starts. His brown eyes full of affection as he starts to sway. 

~love me tender~ love me sweet ~never let me go~  
~you have made my life complete ~ and I love you so ~

He holds your hand in his and plants a soft kiss to your cheek. Your heart is full, and despite the craziness of the day, this?... with just him like this? You couldn’t ask for a better ending of a day than this.

~ love me tender ~ love me true ~ all my dreams fulfill ~  
~for my darling ~  
~ I love you~ 

~ and I always will ~

**Author's Note:**

> Take care! <3
> 
> on instagram at @Mother_Mortician_  
> 


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